


Love Without Your Heartbeat

by Catatonica



Category: One Piece
Genre: 120 os challenge, Crushes, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Implied Sexual Content, Just Cute Stuff, M/M, No Smut, Oneshot Prompts Challenge, Other, Reader-Insert, Reader/canon, but kisses and cuddles, but no big smut stuff sorry lol
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:46:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 65
Words: 78,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27530227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Catatonica/pseuds/Catatonica
Summary: A bunch of reader x canon oneshots! Prompt list is in first chapter, have fun :)
Relationships: Akagami no Shanks | Red-Haired Shanks/Reader, Akainu | Sakazuki/Reader, Bartholomew Kuma/Reader, Bastille (One Piece)/Reader, Benn Beckman/Reader, Caesar Clown/Reader, Capote (One Piece)/Reader, Charlotte Cracker/Reader, Charlotte Katakuri/Reader, Coby (One Piece)/Reader, Crocodile (One Piece)/Reader, Donquixote "Corazon" Rosinante/Reader, Donquixote Doflamingo/Reader, Dracule Mihawk/Reader, Eustass Kid/Reader, Fukaboshi (One Piece)/Reader, Fushichou Marco | Phoenix Marco/Reader, Gladius (One Piece)/Reader, Iceburg (One Piece)/Reader, Killer (One Piece)/Reader, King The Wildfire/Reader, Kizaru | Borsalino/Reader, Pell (One Piece)/Reader, Portgas D. Ace/Reader, Rob Lucci/Reader, Roronoa Zoro/Reader, Sabo (One Piece)/Reader, Sasaki (One Piece)/Reader, Shachi (One Piece)/Reader, Smoker (One Piece)/Reader, Trafalgar D. Water Law/Reader, Vinsmoke Sanji/Reader, X Drake/Reader
Comments: 27
Kudos: 323





	1. Prompt List

**Author's Note:**

> English is not my first language, sorry if I make and mistakes ;;  
> Also these oneshots are partially extremely old, some of them are from 2011 - so have some mercy with me... :D

~~1\. In Between Worlds~~  
 ~~2\. Love~~  
3\. Sunset   
4\. Deep   
~~5\. Seeking Solace~~  
6\. Break Away   
7\. Eden  
 ~~8\. Innocence~~  
9\. Drive  
 ~~10\. Breathe Again~~  
 ~~11\. Memory~~  
12\. Insanity  
13\. Abuse   
~~14\. Smile - Lächeln~~  
 ~~15\. Emotionless~~  
 ~~16\. Caged~~  
17\. Blood   
18\. Candy   
~~19\. Snow~~  
 ~~20\. Fortitude~~   
21\. Anomaly   
22\. Forest  
 ~~23\. Cat~~  
24\. Me Time  
25\. Trouble Lurking   
26\. Never Cry   
~~27\. Poison~~  
 ~~28\. Anguish~~  
 ~~29\. Curious~~  
 ~~30\. Rain~~  
31\. Defile  
 ~~32\. Never Look Back~~  
33\. Provoke   
34\. Mechanical   
~~35\. Hold My Hand~~  
 ~~36\. Precious Treasure~~  
 ~~37\. Eyes - Augen~~  
38\. Abandoned  
 ~~39\. Dreams~~  
 ~~40\. Black and Blue~~  
 ~~41\. Teamwork~~  
42\. Standing Still   
43\. Dying   
44\. Two Roads   
45\. Illusion  
 ~~46\. Family~~  
47\. Homunculi   
48\. Orphan  
49\. Stripes   
~~50\. Breaking the Rules~~  
 ~~51\. Games~~  
52\. Claustrophobia   
~~53\. Keeping a Secret~~  
54\. City   
~~55\. Waiting~~  
 ~~56\. Hell-Bent~~  
57\. Sacrifice  
 ~~58\. Bittersweet~~  
59\. Suffocate  
 ~~60\. Rejection~~  
 ~~61\. Fairy Tale~~  
62\. Djinn   
~~63\. Come-hither~~  
64\. Amputation   
~~65\. Contort~~  
 ~~66\. Suicide~~  
67\. Security Blanket   
68\. Bully   
~~69\. Annoyance~~   
~~70\. Wanton~~  
71\. Obsession   
72\. Pawn   
~~73\. I Can't~~  
74\. Demented   
75\. Mirror   
~~76\. Broken Pieces~~  
77\. Test   
~~78\. The Fool~~  
 ~~79\. Disease~~  
 ~~80\. Words~~  
81\. Edge   
82\. Forever  
 ~~83\. Heal~~  
 ~~84\. Out Cold~~  
85\. Spiral   
~~86\. Seeing Red~~  
 ~~87\. Appetite~~  
 ~~88\. Pain~~  
 ~~89\. Through the Fire~~   
90\. Sephia   
91\. Drowning   
~~92\. Die for you~~  
 ~~93\. Give Up~~  
94\. Last Hope  
 ~~95\. Streets~~  
96\. In the Storm  
97\. Regret   
98\. Puzzle   
99\. Solitude   
~~100\. Relaxation~~  
101\. Emo   
~~102\. Act your age~~  
 ~~103\. Covet~~  
 ~~~~ ~~104\. Detached~~   
105\. Belittle   
106\. Confusion   
107\. Dog   
~~108.Moonlight~~  
 ~~109\. Secret Place~~  
110\. Annex   
~~111\. Coward~~  
112\. Emulate  
113\. Kami  
 ~~114\. Place of God~~  
 ~~115\. Delicate~~  
116\. All my fault  
 ~~117\. Chains~~  
 ~~118\. Ferocious~~  
 ~~119\. Autumn~~  
 ~~120\. Loser~~


	2. Mihawk - Fairytale

The evening was still young, the restaurant was not yet very well filled. Around 7 p.m. it was usually still quite relaxed, you didn't have too much to do and could take care of the regulars.  
"Good evening." You looked up, looked into a familiar face and immediately put on your widest smile.  
"Mihawk!", you happily put aside your notes on the accounts, tucked them under the counter and devoted yourself entirely to the new guest. Hawkeyes was one of your regulars, although he liked to keep a low profile. "Same table as always?"  
Wordlessly he nodded, but seemed irritated for a moment. With a wave you asked him to follow you. The restaurant was very dimly lit in itself, but in the farthest corner there was a table in the shade. No one saw him there, he could eat undisturbed and enjoy the excellent wine. He had been visiting the small restaurant on the Grand Line for years, it was an insider tip for real connoisseurs. Much to your delight, because the secretive pirate was really a feast for the eyes! Even if he seemed to be badly believed all the time - he was a delicacy and sweetened your evening.  
"Here you are." You stepped aside so that Hawkeyes could take his place. He sat down, crossed his legs and looked at you. He tilted his head slightly, looked at you questioningly.  
"You could not have known that I would come here today. What does that mean, you're keeping the table free on principle?"  
"Gotcha," you admitted with a broad smile. "But to be honest, I don't think anyone else sits that far in the corner."  
He didn't say anything on it, but pushed the drinks card on the table away from him. The cold eyes lay on you for a moment, then he snorted slightly.  
"Can you recommend something?"  
You played thoughtfully, pretending that you first had to go through the card in your head. Of course you knew what would suit this evening and you knew by now the taste preferences of your guest.  
"A Château Haut-Brion and today there is an excellent plate of vegetables and rare meat from the New World," you finally said and Hawkeyes nodded. With the promise that you would bring him the wine quickly, you disappeared in the kitchen and ordered the food for the Samurai of the Seas.  
"Well, is your favorite regular back?" Mabel came around the corner of the kitchen, pushed you with her shoulder and grinned broadly. "The sexy, dangerous Hawkeyes himself!"  
"Shh, not so loud," you hissed immediately. "He'll hear you in the end, damn it!"  
"Calm down, it's much too loud here in the kitchen anyway," answered your colleague and gave you a knowing look. "You are lucky that everyone is so scared of him, so you have your pirate all to yourself."  
"Oh, shut up," you grumbled, but were a little red around the cheekbones. Mabel was right, Hawkeyes was such a handsome man - you would love to join him for a glass of wine, to this absolute dream guy. But you didn't dare, because it was just a fantasy, a fairy tale in the harsh reality. And your dream prince was a pirate, a grumpy one at that. Apart from the clothes, which rather reminded of a passionate vampire fan. Still, he was a real eye-catcher.  
"Please, your wine." You put the glass down in front of him and smiled encouragingly, a little excuse for the meal to last a little longer. "I do hope you like him. It's a dry wine."  
"Thank you." It was just one word, but it made your heart beat faster. You knew what Mihawk's voice sounded like when he talked to another waitress. Then he was distant and cool, totally disinterested and almost hostile. But not with you, there was always a certain honesty in his voice. You could hear the difference, just like all your colleagues. That's why no one else dared to approach Hawkeyes, he was your guest all alone. It was a bit like your daydreams, wasn't it?  
"The wine is good," he said after a minute of tasting. "Your selection is impeccable once again."  
"Compliments on your wine selection - I'm flattered!" It sounded like a fleeting joke at first, but towards the end you put a strong tone in the voice that was meant to convey emphasis and gratitude. Usually you always joked around a bit, trying to get a smile from him, but this time you thanked him honestly for his compliment. That was new, a little bit brave of you and Hawkeyes looked at you for a short moment puzzled. Then he snorted amusedly and the corners of his mouth twitched upwards. Oh? You had almost seen the so rare smile! From that moment on the evening was a complete success!  
"I will check on your food. I'll be right back," you said cheerfully and disappeared into the kitchen, almost a little jump for joy in your steps. Mabel grinned at you from the side, imitated kissing noises and pursed her lips like a fish. You stuck out her tongue, but also grinned a little. It was exciting every time he was in the restaurant! The food was ready, you gratefully took the plate of food from the cook and returned to the dining room.  
"That looks very good." You gave Mihawk a happy look as you put the food down and he bowed his head appreciatively.  
"I'll pass it on to the kitchen," you said, looking at the table. "Food, drink... Do you need anything else? I'm on break now, so I'll be back in half an hour."  
"Ah." Was there a little disappointment listening out there? That you were allowed to experience something like that! "I understand."  
"I can postpone my break," you replied immediately and smoothed the paper on your notepad. "If you, uh, need anything else. I can also take a break later, after you've left."  
"Why don't you sit with me?" Perplexed, you stared at the samurai of the seas, unable to do anything but open and close your mouth. The boss wasn't in the house, which meant no one would scold you for sitting with a guest.  
"You know what - I'll just do that." You hurried into the kitchen, threw your apron and notepad on one of the unused kitchen counters - and then quickly checked your hairstyle in one of the brightly polished pans.  
"I'm on a break," you shouted loudly to Mabel, who just put her thumb up and kept balancing plates on her arms to serve them. As calmly as possible you smoothed your top and stepped back into the noble dining room of the restaurant. You sat down with Hawkeyes, who had actually waited for you with the food and now also poured you a glass of wine. He seemed a little surprised that you had accepted his offer, but he did not let it show. Luckily you had left the bottle of wine on the table, even though you suddenly remembered the price.  
"Ah, the wine is so expensive," you said, embarrassed. "I don't need-"  
"Nonsense." He cut off the word and looked at you through his piercing eyes. "I invite you in."  
Speechless, you drowned your excited squeal in the first sip of wine, but then you thought of a better one and enjoyed the drink to the full. Damn, the wine was really good! It left a bitter taste on your tongue and for a second your brain drifted away; Would Mihawk taste like that if he leaned over and kissed you now?  
"You have chosen the wine very well." His voice was a little quieter and it created an almost familiar atmosphere between the two of you. Excitement was tingling under your skin, running through your veins like hot lava and making your pulse race. Wow, did that really happen here? A fairytale date with your fairytale prince?  
"This is how I like to spend my break," you muttered and tasted from the grilled vegetables on the platter in front of the two of you. Oh, damn, that was delicious! You really had to compliment the chef once, as fantastic as the food was.  
"You are pleasant company. That's why I only come here when you're here."  
With big eyes you looked at Hawkeyes, who apparently had just blabbed and took another sip of wine - to hide in the red drink. Did he really arrange his visits according to your shift schedule? Oh, the fairy tale became more and more fabulous...  
"Next week the boss won't be here on Tuesday and I have a break at the same time as today...", you muttered to the artichoke on your fork. With raised eyebrows you gave Mihawk a side glance, which he returned.  
"I think I'll probably feel like having a good meal again on Tuesday," he said softly, and your heart was beating up to your neck. If that was just a dream, then there was no way you were going to wake up!


	3. Zoro - Bittersweet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this one is quite old, from 2011... ahh so OOC, sorry!!

Hurriedly you walked across the market, your purchases stowed away in your arms. The metal shell of your sword rattled against the metal straps on your belt as you rushed through the city at a run. It was a comfortably warm Saturday night and you had forgotten to shop, so why did you go back to the market? You cursed yourself in thought that you hadn't thought about it, so now you were quite stressed. After all, it was already evening and the work in the tavern could not wait, you needed the money.  
Your footsteps led you to the harbor, where your work place, the "Blue Water" was located. But when you hurriedly turned the corner, you bumped into someone. The glass of cherries from your arms slipped away and your spirits dropped when you expected it to shatter on the ground. But the clinking did not happen, the man had caught it.  
"Thank you." It was just a mumble that came over your lips, but when you looked at him, the words stuck straight down your throat. It was a tall man with green hair and a large scar over his eye. He stared down at you with an indifferent look and held your glass of cherries under your nose.  
"Bittersweet cherries?" he read from the label and the hint of a smile crept up on his face. "They're delicious."  
"Uh, yeah, I think so, too." Your eyes fell on the three swords on his belt and you automatically grabbed yours. "That's why I bought them."  
His eyes fell on your sword, too, and he just grinned. "A swordswoman," he noted and crossed his arms after you took the cherry glass.  
"You too," you replied and you lost your tension, for he seemed friendly. "Will you fight with all three swords?" He nodded silently and it aroused your curiosity. You had never seen such a style before, it sounded really interesting. But then you remembered, you had to work! Surely the tavern owner was already waiting for you.  
You saw his gaze on the glass of cherries and you had to smile inevitably.  
"Do you want one?", you asked in a voice as bright as a bell, and now you held the glass under his nose. "I have to go to work, but I'm sure I can wait a moment."

So you both sat on the pier and gradually emptied the glass of bittersweet cherries.  
"So... are you a pirate?" you hung on and reached for another fruit to melt in your mouth.  
"Hmmh.", the man agreed with his mouth full and nodded. "I was once a pirate hunter."  
"And then changed to pirate?" In disbelief you stared at him and put your head thoughtfully crooked. "But that's unusual."  
He laughed and leaned back against one of the stakes behind him. He closed his eyes and for a moment you thought he was asleep.  
"What is your name?" you asked him when he did not answer.  
"Zoro. And you?" He opened one eye and looked at you as you wrung your hands nervously.  
"I am known by several names," you replied, brushing your hair away from your face out of nervousness. He asked no further question about your name, which was only right for you. You were uncomfortable to give your name because you didn't have a very good reputation in the village. It was better that Zoro didn't know the stories.  
You also leaned against a stake and crossed your arms behind your head. The lukewarm breeze of the sea caressed your nose and brought you the salty smell of the Grand Line. It was a pleasant feeling here at the pier with Zoro, the pirate and former pirate hunter. He was quiet, enjoyed the silence and the sound of the waves as much as you did and didn't ask unnecessary questions.  
"Hmm, I have to get back to the ship soon," he said suddenly and your heart became heavy with his words.  
"What a pity. But, one cherry left." You held the glass out to him and he reached for it. He shoved the last cherry in his mouth and his gaze wandered slowly towards you. He straightened up and leaned towards you for a moment.  
The taste of bittersweet cherries came to your lips and it was a moment that you wanted to keep enjoying. But it had only been a brief moment when he had kissed you. A goodbye kiss, he had to go. He was a pirate, he would not come back either.  
Zoro rose and turned to leave.  
"I like bittersweet cherries best," he said softly and smiled broadly as you gave him an amused look and raised your hand in parting. His steps were slow but unerring to one of the landing stages further west. He walked, would not come to this island again. But he left a bittersweet taste on your lips.


	4. Kid - Seeing Red

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> back then in 2011 I was writing so ooc, hehe... have fun tho

You are approaching the end of your glass. The bottom was already visible when you stared into it with a strained gaze. Like every evening, it had been a few drinks too many. Although you sat at the bar and tried to hold on tightly, you swayed considerably. You had stopped talking to the host after nothing more than slurred words gushed out. How embarrassing! A young woman should not get so drunk, the host always said to you. But you had your reasons, he knew that. So every evening he took your money and brought you more and more to drink, hour after hour. And in the same way you became fuller and fuller, until every night you ran through the alleys, drunk as a pig, and took forever to get home.  
Irritated, you turned around when you felt a cold draft. Your dizzy look glided to the door where some dubious figures entered. The leader of this group had red hair, wore a pair of aviator goggles and a coat thrown around his shoulders. He was accompanied by a mask wearer with long blond hair and a man who seemed to have many sewn on his body.  
Pirates, it went through your head. Filthy pack! All the time they were here on the Sabaody Archipelago to travel to the new world. Only the most hardened ones made it far, which was only a limited number.  
The three outlaws sat down at one of the back corner tables, hidden by shadows. They ordered beer, which the host brought them quickly, more out of fear of them than respect.  
You watched them from the corner at the counter, where you had gone. Granted, the leader of the three didn't look too bad now, but pirate was pirate, nothing could be changed.

"Ey you!", you shouted over to him, when the volume level got on your nerves. "Can you be quieter?!"  
"Why should I?" replied the redhead aggressively and also very drunk. He sat up straight, but seemed to have difficulty seeing you clearly. He narrowed his eyes strained and stood up staggeringly. "We might as well go outside, little one!"  
"You mumbled and stood up from your bar stool, also staggering with concern. Your uncertain steps led you out of the bar into the back alley, where the red-haired pirate followed you. His steps were no more unerring than yours when he followed you. His two colleagues did not follow, they were probably of the opinion that he would easily beat you up.  
"And now," you slurred and supported yourself on the wall next to you. "Are you going to fight?!"  
"I thought so, yes," he replied and tried to pose, but it was only enough for a feeble representation of his upper body, which you noticed positively, lying freely under the coat. But there was no reaction from him. No twitching of his muscles, he seemed to wait for you.  
"Did I... somehow not up for it"; you mumbled and let yourself sink against the wall. You were crooked, everything revolved around you and you felt a slight nausea. You saw, slightly absent-minded, that the pirate came towards you.  
"What's your name?" he asked and leaned next to you.  
"I don't know," you replied, but you just didn't feel like giving your name. "But what is your name?"  
"Kid."  
"Ah."  
Your head turned in his direction and you sank to the soft, grassy ground beneath your feet. Kid followed you and so you both sat, drunk, in the grass on a balmy summer night. Your head slipped down onto his shoulder as if by magic, or even from the suffocating tiredness. He just looked at you irritated, but did not react. So he didn't seem to mind. Instead, he moved a little closer to you and wrapped his arm around your neck on your shoulders.  
"How much did you drink?" you asked, more and more befogged.

"Enough."; he murmured in response. "And when a pirate says that, it means something." You had to laugh and nod.  
"This is true."  
You smiled at him and he smiled back at you. Glad you didn't fight, you saw how he came closer and closer to you. You weren't in the mood for kid stuff like that. Without further ado you took your courage, certainly drunk, and kissed him.  
No reluctance on his part, only agreement, His hand went into your hair, greedily he pushed himself toward you. Kid was demanding, passionate. But you enjoyed it to the fullest, the desire of a man, even if it was led by alcohol. His tongue went into your mouth, rough and willing. You responded without hesitation, which made the already passionate kiss even wilder.  
Breathlessly you separated from him and put your forehead against his.  
"Now will you tell me your name," he asked softly and his hand slid down your back, further and further down.  
"Only on the second date," you replied, grinning into the following kiss.


	5. Kuma - Emotionless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> from 2011, too!

"Have the troops been informed of their orders?" you asked and pulled the cloak tighter against you. The wind blew strongly on Bartigo Island. But in your position of the revolutionaries you were often at headquarters and had gotten used to it. If you put on thick clothes, it was very bearable and at least you always had fresh air here. But the wind was the least of your problems; it was more the current moves of the Revolutionary Army that gave you headaches. It was terrible and claimed many victims, but soon the world government would turn tail like a scared dog!  
"Everything as it should be," Ivankov replied behind you and posed. "The mission will be a complete success!"  
"That is good." You turned to him and tried to smile. "Please be so kind as to send Kuma to me."  
"No problem at all!" The transvestite disappeared in the building in a good mood and you stood alone on the balcony with a good view to the sea. You had asked Iva-san to come because you wanted to be alone for a moment. Silence was rare in headquarters, you had to enjoy it.  
But you also liked the man who was known as a tyrant. Silent waters are deep, and that was very true for him. He was a rather quiet type, didn't talk much and, much to your chagrin, hardly showed any emotion. You liked him very much, more than you would have liked, but as a revulotionary you were forbidden. Unfortunately, the forbidden was an incentive for you. A kind of friendship had developed between the two of you, in which words didn't matter much. He was the pillar that made you do all this, here in the army under Dragon. What would you do without him?

Kuma stepped beside you without saying anything. You looked over at him and a sigh escaped you. A dark premonition came over you.  
"You will go?" you asked quietly and he just nodded.  
"To the World Government," he replied after a hesitation. Your eyes became big and unbelieving.  
"What?!" It was unbelievable! If you didn't know he was humorless, you would have thought he was joking with you. "Why?"  
Your insistent question and the fact that you turned to him abruptly made him warp the corners of his mouth. A sign that he was astonished.  
"I have my reasons."  
"I realize that," you countered and stepped a step closer to him. "But we hate the world government!" A lump formed in your throat, hot tears burning in your eyes. The panic that took hold of you was about to take over.  
Kuma also came a little closer and put a hand on your shoulder. He rarely sought physical contact, which only made you more surprised that he touched you.  
"I just have my reasons. Ask no more questions."  
It was clear you had to admit defeat. He had ended the discussion quickly and with clear words and nothing would change that. The disappointment in you prevailed and a single tear ran hot across your cheek.  
"But what about me," you whispered with a lowered look. "You are leaving me here alone." How dare he! How could he leave you alone in a war He switched to the enemy, that was treason.   
But to your amazement you were drawn to him and he held you in his arms. He had never done anything like that before, he had never let anyone come so close to him. He bent down to you, for he was much bigger than you. His breath brushed over your skin as he whispered something to you.  
"I am doing this to protect those like you. Those who are more important than my memories, my strength or my will. Remember that."  
He turned to leave when you reached forward and grabbed his hand.  
"Promise me you'll come back." He looked at you, saw your desperate look and returned the gentle pressure of your hand in his. "Promise me you will not die."  
He smiled at you and you got goose bumps. You had never seen him smile, never in all the years that you knew each other now. It was the first time and it would be the last time, but you could not know that at that time.  
"I promise."


	6. Law - Chains

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> another oldie... :D

The chains dug deep into your wrists as you tried to move. It burned unbearably, but there was nothing I could do.  
"And here is number 17 of our auction, a magnificent girl in her prime! I hear bids starting at 100,000 berries!"  
Trembling, you stood on the stage, the auctioneer next to you on the podium. Wildly screamed the people were paying through the hall and you only wished to be away, away from this place. As a slave you would end up cleaning and cooking for the rest of your days, if not worse.  
"Sold for 600,000 berries," you heard the auctioneer and the hammer fell down. Frightened, you looked into the crowd, not paying attention to who was bidding you now. But before you could recognize the someone, you were dragged backstage.  
"Here, the check," you heard a voice and in the darkness you felt your explosion ring being removed. Someone grabbed it by the upper arm and you were pulled outside into the light of the Sabaody Archipelago. You were terrified when you saw who was pulling you across the area by the arm. A white bear in orange overalls held you down and twitched as much as you did.  
"You are a bear!" you shouted and he retreated.  
"Excuse me," he muttered with his head down and wrung his hands.  
"He can still talk!" That was too much for your delicate nerves! In an instant everything went black and you fainted deeply.

"Bepo, did you scare her like that?" You heard a voice whose origin must be right next to you. You didn't dare to open your eyes. You would spend your next years as a maid, which would be exhausting and stressful. So you enjoy lying on a soft surface. Who knew when the next time there would be a comfortable bed?  
"I know you're awake."  
Damn it! You're making a disappointed face. It could have worked. Now you opened your eyes with a wink and brushed the few strands of hair out of sight. You were lying in a small room, the walls and the furniture made entirely of wood. And it rocked, from which you concluded that it must have been a ship. Next to you on a chair sat a young man, with a black and yellow shirt and jeans. He wore a white cap, which almost completely covered his black hair.  
"Well, awake again?" he asked teasingly and you nodded shyly. Had he bought you at an auction? Did you have to clear up after him now? At least he was no old grandfather, that was a ray of hope.  
"Did you buy me at auction?" you asked quietly and your hands dug into the ceiling that lay above you.  
"Yes, I did," he replied with a grin and put his fingertips together. "But don't worry, I won't keep you as a slave. I just didn't think a pretty girl like you should be brought to some rich old bastard."  
You raised your head and looked at him in astonishment. So he wouldn't keep you on his ship as a slave? Hope sprouted in you and you tried to smile. "Who are you?"  
"My name is Law. And, the bear you were so afraid of is Bepo." Law wies behind him, where the white bear stood in the corner and nodded at you briefly. You answered the gesture shyly and looked back at the pirate.  
"What are you going to do with me?" you asked him and he made a thoughtful face.  
"Good question," he replied. "can you see blood?" You nodded, whereupon he stood up and put his hands to his sides. "Good, then you'll be my physician assistant, I think."  
That was better than expected, it shot through your head and you swung your legs out of bed. He was almost two heads taller than you, so you had to look up at him. He turned around and went to the door, waving your hand that you should follow him. Wordlessly you ran after him and he led you to the cabins of his crew members. He opened an inconspicuous door and behind it was a room as small as the one he had just led you out of.  
"You can sleep here. We don't really often have women on board, but that should be fine. Bepo will bring you your work clothes later." You nodded and had to realize that you were part of a pirate gang as a nurse.  
"Don't look so unhappy," he pointed at you friendly and put his hand under your chin. He looked you in the eyes and you turned slightly red. He looks really good, you thought and smiled shyly.  
"There you go"; he said with satisfaction and put his left hand on the door handle, but did not let go of you. "A pretty face like that shouldn't look sad." He leaned down towards you. "In that nurse's dress, you must look very tasty."  
Then, without another glance or a word, he left the room and you fell on the freshly made bed.  
You couldn't resist a giggle and were already looking forward to presenting yourself to Law in the short dress.


	7. Ace - Through the fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> from 2012

"Ace!" You screamed out the name, the battlefield raged around you. "Hold on!"  
Next to you stood Marco, who stared at you in wonder because of your shouts. He wanted to save Ace like all the others, to save Nakama from certain death. But the war between the Whitebeard pirates and the Navy had turned into a bloodbath and only God alone knew what kind of end it would bring.  
You looked around to the first commander as he put a hand on your shoulder and looked at you appeasingly.  
"We'll get through this," he said and smiled encouragingly. "We'll get him out of this, I promise you."  
You nodded and made yourself ready to join the fight your Nakama fought, as you briefly recalled your favorite moment with Ace.

It was a bright day on Moby Dick, but it was time for lunch, which had driven everyone to the galley. Next to you sat Firefist Ace and like every day, they argued about the last piece of meat.  
"Mine!", you growled and your fork was already stuck in the leg. But the black-haired man had also stuck his cutlery into the piece of meat and stared at you threateningly.  
"Forget it," he replied and pulled it towards him, but you wouldn't put up with that. Unfortunately, he was much stronger, which is why he was able to defeat you in a forked battle for food by pushing you off the bench.  
"Dirtbag!" you cursed and rubbed your aching ass. "You'll regret this!"  
"Whateva...", he mumbled with a full mouth and turned away. Angrily you straightened up, but Marco grabbed your hand and pulled you back onto the bench. "Don't bother, you two are only going to knock each other's heads again anyway," he spoke calmly to you and you just snorted in a bad mood. Now you had to continue working hungry, a catastrophe!  
And indeed, you were getting a bit shaky on your feet in the afternoon. Hunger tore at your stomach and gradually you became dizzy in the hot sun. It was a stuffy summer day with humid air and a thunderstorm was announced, according to the navigator. But you didn't care about all that, fuck the thunderstorm, because your stomach was rumbling and after another dizzy spell you sat down in the shade of the main mast.  
"Hunger..."; you moaned and your arms fell limply to the side. Marco seemed to notice this and looked at you from the other side of the ship, frowning. He turned his eyes as you rolled weakly onto your stomach and moaned again. So the blond man went to Ace, who was only a few meters away from him, and patted him on the shoulder. From your almost closed eyes you could tell that Marco was saying something to the firefist in a stern voice and the black-haired man disappeared below deck, shaking his head.  
So you continued to stew in the heat and dreamed of all the delicacies that an imaginary chef prepared for you. But when you heard footsteps coming towards you, you listened up and looked up. In front of you stood Ace, as always with a big grin on his face.  
"Hey, lazybones," he greeted you and sank down on the deck beside you. "Here, Marco said to bring you some food."  
He handed you a small bowl of delicious pudding. It smelled so tempting that you could have jumped right in. But you were too proud and turned up your nose as you stood up and leaned against the main mast.  
"Thanks, but no thanks," you said coolly and Ace looked at you in wonder.  
"First you're crying and now you don't want to!" Confused, he stood up and ran straight to Marco, which you watch with interest. Ace talked to the first commander, but he just stroked his face and gave Ace a good slap. The black-haired man was now completely confused, he probably didn't understand what he had done wrong.  
"Ace, you idiot!"; the blond scolded and took the bowl out of his hand. "Get lost, go on!" Quickly, the black-haired man trotted away and Marco came towards you.  
"Now eat this," he murmured to you and pressed the pudding into your hand.  
"Tz, no! Ace didn't even think of it himself, you told him to do that," you replied, but you couldn't control yourself anymore over this perfect chocolate pudding...  
"I just told him to get something to eat. The pudding was all his idea," said the phoenix, his arms crossed in front of his chest. He knows that this is your favorite food.  
"How come?" you asked in surprise and could not wait any longer: You began to shovel the pudding into your mouth and tears of joy were streaming into your eyes. Eat! And so wonderfully sweet!  
"You are both blind," sighed Marco annoyed and just waved away. He disappeared, but you saw Ace looking at you from a few meters away and he waved with a broad grin. Your stomach was tingling pleasantly, but not from hunger. Then you noticed what Marco probably meant.  
You were happy to put a spoonful of pudding in your mouth and were looking forward to dinner, where you would sit next to Ace again and argue about food.


	8. Doflamingo - Ferocious

You reached relaxed for your glass of iced tea, which was standing in front of you on the garden table. The summer wind was blowing through your hair and you held back the tangled strands of your hair. You preferred to have your drinks chilled, as did the man sitting next to you.  
"It's unbelievable," cried Flamingo laughing and held the newspaper in his hand. Curious, you looked at the big article and your mouth remained open.  
"Oh yes, they want to execute the fire-fist Ace," you said and took another sip of iced tea in your hand. "They're brave."  
"Whatever. A war, I'm really excited!" He threw himself into the chair laughing and you smiled soothingly. As a senior member and longtime friend of Flamingo, you had certain privileges. On his small private island you both often sat on the beach and the sun tanned you more and more every day.  
You had been friends with Shichibukai for ages, since your childhood. He was the first of you two to make a name for yourself as a pirate and you followed him to the Grand Line a few years later. But in all those years, despite his cruelty and bloodthirst, you had come to appreciate him more and more and you had fallen for him in some way. But you certainly weren't that stupid and would rub it in his face. Would be even more beautiful.  
"Why are you so quiet," Flamingo suddenly asked, and you were startled by your thoughts of him.  
"Eh- Nix. I was only thinking of the war," you tried to avoid him, but he knew you too well to believe this lie.  
"Sure," he sneered and bent over to you. "Surely something dirty."  
You rolled your eyes and nodded annoyed. "Sure, something dirty, sure." With a voice dripping with sarcasm you leaned towards him and he grinned broadly.  
"You know I like dirty things!" Quickly he put his arm around your shoulder and almost pulled you off your chair. You blushed slightly and tried to wriggle out of the grip, but the blond man held you firmly.  
"Let go," you growled, but your body stopped moving. Tetrified, you saw the position of his hand and had to admit to yourself that it was hopeless. It was annoying that Flamingo with his devilish powers didn't even stop with you. "Now!"  
"Nope," he replied cheekily and kept grinning at you. "By the way, you're cute when you blush, little one."  
"I'll show you blushing!" You sparkled at him angrily, for your body was no longer capable of anything more. And the fact that Flamingo came so close to you as he did at that moment had become so rare that it did not make your thoughts any clearer.  
"Say please."  
„P...please." Cruel bastard! He finally let you go and your face looked like an overripe tomato. You turned your head away, but he had already seen you and your strawberry skull and began to laugh. But when he realized that you didn't find that so funny, he paused. The blond man put on a thoughtful face and leaned towards you again, whereupon you moved away a little.  
"Don't look like that! I was only joking," he said and leaned on the back of his chair to get closer to you. But you didn't see fit to respond to that in any way. Flamingo seemed to notice that too, for he put his hand gently under your chin and turned your face towards him. He looked at you through the edges of his sunglasses and you sighed at the sight of his eyes. Now he grinned again when he saw that your mood seemed to improve again.  
A little hesitant you took a heart and pulled the sunglasses from his eyes. He looked at you with an inscrutable look and the grin from his face disappeared immediately. Before you knew it, he bent over and grabbed you by the neck. Astonished, you felt his lips and closed your eyes to enjoy the short moment he gave you. A pleasant sigh escaped you and he parted from your lips. With a quick movement of his hand he took off his sunglasses and put them back on. Not a single word was necessary, he just leaned back in his chair and you sat down too.  
Just a quick exchange of looks confirmed what had happened and he smiled broadly again, which is what you liked best about him.


	9. Crocodile - Wanton

Quickly your steps led you through the estate. Your cloak blew from your back as you turned a corner and hurried to your boss. It was only a few more feet that led you from the door to his office, as he called it. Nervously you stopped and pulled your cape up. It all sat well, but unfortunately the top slipped down a little too far for you to see the bra underneath. Black lace kept your arguments in check, but you were too excited to notice that your blouse slipped again. You knocked and went into the room in front of you without waiting for an answer.  
Crocodile looked at you with disinterest, frowning after a few seconds. He had noticed your problem in the décolleté, but didn't bother to tell you about it. Instead, a slight grin appeared around the corner of his mouth, which surprised you a bit. It never grinned or smiled. He was cool and calm, which you liked very much about him.  
"Mister Zero, sir, the caravan has been successfully stopped," you reported and briefly muddled up in your own sentence. A slight blush settled on his face as he turned to you and expressed his cigar on the windowsill.  
"Good," he growled and looked at you again. You couldn't interpret his look, but a shiver ran down your back. Why the hell was he staring at you like that? Was there something on your face.  
"Eh - What's there to look at?", you asked, more and more nervous towards him. "Is there something on my nose?" You turned tomato red and your eyes moved to the tiles on the floor. How embarrassing that he stared at you like that. Embarrassing, but also kind of flattering. Maybe he just thought you were pretty and liked looking at you? But at that thought you almost had to laugh yourself. I'm sure. Sir Crocodile would never find you pretty.  
"You've got something sticking out of it, little one," he replied softly, adding a laugh. "You're a very perceptive girl."  
Scared, you ripped your blouse up, but too late. You stood here for two minutes looking at your bra and your boss had seen it. Embarrassing to die! Now you wished to sink completely into the ground, but unfortunately you were not made of sand like your boss, but of flesh and blood.  
"Excuse me..."; you whispered and closed your eyes. Just disappear, into a hole in the ground! Your eyes opened when you felt a draft. Sand was all around you, which just sat down next to you to be your boss.  
"But no," he murmured and grinned wider and wider. "I have to thank you for the deep insights, little one." Once again your cheeks turned red as you felt his hand on your butt as he walked out of the room close to you. You could have fainted! He had touched you and not unintentionally, but completely planned and certainly with reason.  
He stopped at the door and lit a new cigar before he turned to you. "You should wear that blouse more often, darling."


	10. Paulie - Autumn

"Please, have a nice day." You smiled friendly and the customer walked out of the store. You sighed and rubbed your aching shoulder. A vertebra was dislocated and there was a hellish pull in your muscles. You looked into the cash register and sighed again heavily. It was autumn and the time of flowers was almost over. You moved the sunflowers thoughtlessly into their vase and let your gaze wander through your little flower store. The business went reasonably well, but unfortunately not as well as you would have wished. Autumn was the end time and in winter you would earn your living as a waitress as usual. But what can you do, the money had to come from somewhere.  
"Hey flower girl!"  
"Paulie!" The blond galley slave entered and grinned broadly. Your heart took a little jump at the thought, you'd been in love with him for so long. Of course he didn't know about it, because that would be even nicer... He was so shy.  
"So, how is your business?" he asked, looking at you with his wonderful eyes.  
"Oh, it could be better. But you don't want to complain after all," you replied cheerfully and rubbed your shoulder again.  
"Does something hurt you," he asked, he had followed with the look of your hand. "You'd better see a doctor." You shook your head.  
"No, there's no time. But it'll be all right, I'm not made of sugar!"  
You laughed and a short pause came between you. These seconds of silence alone were a bit uncomfortable and so you quickly picked up a topic.  
"What about the anniversary celebration of the Galley-La?", you asked excitedly.  
"It's going quite well. I think it will be a really good party," he replied and suddenly seemed very embarrassed. "Are you coming too?"  
"Eh, me?", you wondered in surprise. "No, I... I have no invitation, I'm not important enough." A little sadly you let your head hang down. It would have been nice to go to the 10th anniversary celebration of the Galley-La Company, because Paulie would be there...  
"What? Tell me, don't you ever read your mail?!", he asked you perplexed. "Mr. Iceburg already sent you a letter weeks ago asking you to decorate the flowers! That's really the only reason I'm here!"  
You blushed and put your hands in front of your mouth. Immediately you ran forward to the front of your store and indeed, the mailbox almost overflowed! You never thought about getting the mail in...  
"Ah, there's the letter... But, this must be ready tomorrow!" you exclaimed and looked at Paulie. "Why didn't you come here earlier? Then I wouldn't have such a stress now... But go to Iceburg and tell him that everything will be ready tomorrow... I hope so..."  
Paulie sighed and shook his head.  
"You are really incredible! Not even looked in your mailbox for the last 3 weeks... Well, all right, see you tomorrow night!" He said goodbye with a wave and you stood at the entrance of your store with the load of letters in your hand.  
"I have to hurry!!" you said to yourself and ran inside to start right away with the table arrangements and decorations.

And indeed, after working all night, you had done it! Everything was ready and waiting to be picked up. Around noon Tilestone and Louie-Louie came by to pick up the goods.  
"Have a nice party," you said, counting your wages for the job. "I'm sure you'll have a good time."  
Louie-Louie looked at you confused. "What? Aren't you coming?"  
"Eh, I-I don't have an invitation..."; you muttered in embarrassment. "I guess not..."  
"You realize that the order Mr. Iceburg sent you included an invitation," the craftsman asked, slightly amused. Your face brightened.  
"Really? Oh that's great!" You could go to the party, which meant - you could see Paulie!  
Quickly you ran upstairs after you had said goodbye to the two galleys and looked into your closet. Well, you didn't have too much choice... But it couldn't be too short, you knew Paulie well enough by now. You decided on a simple dress that perfectly matched your hair color. But your hair would not pull itself together to a nice hairstyle. You thought back and forth what would look good and above all what Paulie would like.  
And before you knew it, it was late afternoon and it was time to go to the party. An unpleasant tingling sensation spread in your stomach and nervousness overcame the good mood. Would everything go well? What if Paulie would not pay attention to you? What if he would dance with someone else? You had to calm down, it wouldn't be so bad...

"Ah, glad you made it here after all," Iceburg greeted you and extended his hand to you. "Paulie keeps talking about you and your little store."  
"Eh, does he?", you asked irritated and looked around furtively. The autumn leaves of the trees colored the mood into a soft orange and the ripe apples had been picked from the fruit trees and prepared into delicious meals. The sun sank into the sea on the horizon and it became fresher, a perfect autumn evening for a celebration.  
"Of course, he asked me to send you an invitation," Iceburg replied to my question and could hardly wipe off a smile. "By the way, he's over there, with the workmen."  
You walked over, a little nervous and stiffened, to the group of galley men who stood by the magnificent fountain and talked loudly, laughing and roaring.  
"Hi Paulie," you tried to sound relaxed, but your voice was higher than usual out of nervousness. You could have sunk into the ground, but he either didn't seem to notice or ignored it.  
"Hey, you're here after all!", he greeted you and saluted you with beer. You nodded shyly in the face of the other craftsmen, but they glanced furtively at each other and grinned.  
"Well, we'll have to go! Like, right now." said one of the men, and all but you and Paulie disappeared. He was already a little drunk, you could see that. He drank so rarely, he really couldn't take much. He didn't seem to know what to say either, so he drank another sip of beer instead.  
"Iceburg told me you wanted to invite me," you started a conversation. He blushed and choked.  
"Um - yes, I did. And still do, y'know." he replied and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.  
"Why?", you asked hesitantly and butterflies shot through your stomach. You hoped for a positive answer from the blond.  
"Well, I like you," he mumbled, as nervous as you were. "And, um... Do you like it here?"  
"I do." You could have jumped up in the air at his reply. So he liked you! That was wonderful, but you just didn't have the guts to tell him the same thing... But what the heck, just take a run-up and jump into the deep end, your grandma always said. You took a step closer and he pulled you onto the wall of the fountain, where you occasionally got fine droplets of cold water.  
"Paulie it's...", you muttered and redness shot into your cheeks. "Paulie I... um... how can I say this...?"  
"What...?", he asked and looked at you with a wrinkled forehead. "Now say you don't like me!" His words were already blurred from all the alcohol, but you smiled about it.   
"No, Paulie, on the contrary." You kept lowering your voice so that he leaned closer and closer to you.  
"So... Do you like me the way I like you...?" he whispered to you and came closer to you inch by inch. You only managed a nod before his hand slipped into your neck and pulled you towards him. Warmly you felt his lips, heard the delicate aftertaste of beer and your heart was beating wildly in your chest.  
As you let go of each other, he looked at you briefly and grinned cheekily. But why should he grin now, you asked yourself and drew him back to you, which he was only too happy to do.


	11. Pell - Smile

"Chop chop!! And make sure you don't show up here again until you've taken everything," screamed your mother and you heard the clatter of the thrown dishes behind you. The heavy wooden door fell into the lock and saved you from a frying pan.  
"It's okay....," you murmured to yourself and stepped onto the sunny street of Alabasta. The morning was already bustling with activity and your kind mother had sent you on your way to run errands. Mainly to buy fabrics, since one child after the other slipped out of her lap and so clothes became scarce... The old man from the fig stand greeted you friendly, which was acknowledged with a wave from you. Of course he was just a friendly old man, but in your current mood the princess herself would only reap an annoyed groan from you.  
And at that very moment you ran into someone.  
"Can't you be careful," it escaped your not-guarded tongue and you saw only white cloth with purple patches. "Man!"  
Without waiting to see what the someone replied, you ducked past them and went on your way to the fabric merchant. Impudence, it went through your head. Such a brazen thing, he should watch where he's running! Now the mood was completely spoiled by this idiot! Stupid, stupid... Ah, you had already arrived at the booth. Fabrics in all the most beautiful colors and patterns hung on rolls and shone at you.  
"Hello young lady! What can I do for you?"  
"Hello," you greeted back and didn't pay any attention to the merchant who posed with verve. "I buy simple linen cloth. No special color."  
You reached for a rough cloth and looked at the price. Yes, you could afford that, though barely... Your hand went through your little satchel. Strange... Where was... Your heart stopped - you had lost your money! That must have been the collision with the man, that was the only explanation...  
"Please, 3 meters from the lines... Ah... Young lady, your money?" The salesman started eyeing you. He became more suspicious as you grinned and played with the loose buttons of your blouse.  
"Well, it's like this..."; you started, but a hand lay on your shoulder and handed the man the coins to pay for the cloth. You looked up at the stranger and recognized Pell, the king's servant. Suddenly your face turned red and you bowed to him, while he smiled reassuringly.  
"Come," he said to you and led you away from the stand, when you had grasped your cloth and now held it in your arms before you.  
"Th-Thank you, Master Pell," you whispered in embarrassment and pressed your cloth closer to you, "I-I must have lost my money, because earlier-"  
"I know," he interrupted you and guided you further through the alleys of the desert city. "I have watched. A man picked up your wallet and I lost sight of it, I'm sorry."  
"Oh, well, n-no," a word salad shot out of your mouth.  
"Yes, yes!"; he contradicted and stopped. We stood in front of one of the few cafés in Alabasta. "It is my duty to take care of Alabasta's people. As an excuse, you will now sit down in this cafe and order what you want."  
Your eyes got big. For the first time you would sit in a cafe and eat something... Fantastic!  
"I can't accept this..."  
"Yes you can. Unfortunately I have a lot more to do, so I have to leave you alone now... But before that..." He waved one of the waiters over to him, who rushed over here. "This young woman may choose what she wants. I will come by later and pay for it."  
The gray-haired man nodded and led you to a free table where you sat down happily. Pell smiled slightly and looked at me for a moment, whereupon your cheeks took on a red color. He was such a friendly man and handsome to boot...  
"Maybe when I finish my work later, you will still be here... I think I could use a bite later on," he said and turned to leave.  
"I-I'll wait..." you mumbled and a pleasantly weak feeling spread in your stomach. "See you later..."  
For the last time, the palace employee smiled at you and walked along the dusty alley.


	12. Capote - Give up

You sighed slightly and tugged at the black mask that now adorned your face. After your crew was completely gutted by Foxy and you were now part of the fat idiot, you had to spend the rest of your life on the ship here and help minimize other crews... This prospect of your next life made you sigh and fiddle with the black blindfold again. It was way too tight and somehow pressed...  
"Hey, you!"  
You looked up and the Commander Porsche stood in front of you, hands on your hips.  
"Make sure you get back below deck! The work won't do itself," she snarled at you harshly and you followed this order - because you had to. You were a Foxy-Pirate now and there was no way to get around it, no matter what... And your job on the ship had become repairing the engines, together with the fish-man Capote. He was a bad-tempered companion, he was always bitching about your work and at every little mistake you were punished immediately. To make matters worse, the days in the engine room were long, as something was constantly breaking or failing completely. Therefore, the evenings became endless, when you sat in the dirt and lost your last nerves in the heat of the room.  
"There you are at last," you were received nervously in the belly of the ship and Capote immediately pressed a wrench into your hand. In a bad mood he stood in front of you, sweaty and exhausted after a long working day.  
"What do you mean, "at last"?!", you poisoned back, energetically and stroked your forehead with the back of your hand. Only two minutes in the engine room and you were incredibly warm. Since the engines were always working at full speed, and it was also the height of summer, the temperature in the stern of the ship was unbearably high at 40 degrees. You often had to work in short clothes to avoid dying of heat stroke. And the fact that the fish-man constantly wore only his trousers annoyed you deeply. You hated this crew with all your heart, but Capote's well-trained body was a distraction now and then. Every time he carried the metal pieces around the room, his muscles were visible in the dim light, which made you want to look. Nevertheless, he was not a sunny soul and often enough your encounters ended in quarrels and fights.  
"At last you say! You've got a lot of nerve, you damn fish-head," you hissed and drilled your index finger into his chest, "I can certainly eat something for a moment without having to sign out to you, fish-head!  
"Who are you calling Fish Head?!", the redhead hissed back and built himself up threateningly in front of you. "One more word and..."  
"And WHAT?" you sneered and grinned invitingly. There was no answer from Capote, he just snorted angrily and turned away to go back to work. Some parts of the galley's cooling system had to be replaced, which would probably take all night. So it was not surprising if you wanted to treat yourself to a little snack... But if the refrigeration was not repaired, there would be nothing to eat the following day except dried meat, and as a gourmet you could not let that happen. So you had to pull yourself together and work with Capote all night long until you dropped. 

The last time you looked at your watch, it was around three o'clock in the night. The cooling was still not fixed and Capote was getting more and more annoyed. He had started throwing tools around and cursing about the half dismantled machine. Sharp-edged parts stuck out in some places, making you worried that the fish-man who got into a rage would hurt himself. And rightly so!  
"Ah, what a damned shit!", you heard him call out and he jumped up. He had an abnormally large cut across his forearm and blood was dripping onto the floor.  
"Congratulations, hero, now you're hurt," you said unnerved and looked at your watch again. At half past three in the morning, the ship's doctors would surely be fast asleep by then. So you had to bandage it up yourself, because every time you woke up one of the crew members, there was an awful lot of noise and nagging.  
"Wait here, I'll get a bandage," you growled and ran into the hall where a first-aid kit was to be found. Capote wasn't very excited about being patched up by you, but since the wound was deep and needed stitches, he couldn't do it himself, he couldn't reach it.  
"This will hurt now. Do you want a painkiller?", you asked cautiously, but the fish-man snorted contemptuously.  
"Did I hear right? A painkiller? I can take that little bit of pain," he boasted and you shrugged your shoulders. If he could make a big noise, he had to live with the consequences. It took a moment before you could pick out a thin needle and thread, but at the moment there was nothing else to help. Disgruntled, Capote looked at the needle as if he knew what was in store for him. You were sure if the wound hadn't needed stitches, he would never have allowed you to get too close.  
"Aaahh God," he cried out as the needle buried itself in his thick fish-man skin.  
"I told you so!", you groan, annoyed at the wimp of a man before you. Well, it was a little understandable - his skin was very thick, it was to be expected that it hurt quite a bit. "So some painkillers... Coming right up." You drew up a syringe - luckily you knew your way around, your mother had been a nurse - and squeezed the narcotic into his blood. It would probably take a minute or two before it began to work, so you squeezed the wound to stop the bleeding.  
You both lay down on the floor, your backs against the wall.  
"You hate this crew, don't you?" you heard the fish-man ask quietly. His eyes became dull, he seemed to... ...high. But if he already started a personal conversation and probably wouldn't remember it tomorrow, you might as well join in.  
"Yes, I do. I'll get out of here as soon as I can," you replied coolly and looked at the wound again. It bled less, but it definitely needed stitches. It was time for the painkiller to take full effect, you didn't want to sit here all night, so close to the well-built fish-man...  
"Oh, just give up. That's what I did. Get over the fact that you are a foxy pirate now," he mumbled and stared at the ceiling. Okay, it seemed as if the remedy was already working, the way the redhead looked around in a fog.  
"Give me your arm," you muttered, and he followed. This time he didn't complain when you started to carefully finish the suture. He began to play with one of your strands of hair that was hanging in your face when you were working bent over him. What was the man up to, it annoyed you how he groped you.  
"There, finished..." You wrapped the bandage tightly around his forearm and your work was done. But the fish-man was still high on painkillers and he didn't stop playing with your hair. "Say, what the hell, what...!" You looked up and he looked at you in that special way. "Ooooh..." You knew right away what he had in mind.  
"I always liked your hair," he mumbled and grinned crookedly. "It smells so good..."  
"Uh, Capote, you better not do that," you whispered, unpleasantly touched. "It's not a good idea, I mean, we can't stand each other, you know, the arguments and all..." Your words became confused, which surprised even you. You used to be really cool around him, always looking for a fight. But you knew, deep down, that you liked the stubborn machinist somehow.  
"Silly thing, but of course I like you," he replied stunned and grabbed you by the hand. The blush shot you right in the face and you flinched back.  
"Capote, I-" You felt his lips on yours and automatically closed your eyes. Hmm, you expected it to taste like fish, but it didn't. That was pretty silly, because it tasted good... The kiss was tingling and made you think of more. Although you liked it and somehow you liked it, but even though real love was... But when life gives you lemons, and so on, and so on. So why shouldn't you just get involved with him now? He grabbed you by the neck with one hand, while the other pressed you down by your shoulder. Wow, did he do what you suspected he was going to do?  
"You're high," you mumbled after you had briefly freed yourself from him. Capote grinned and looked at you with a strange but desiring look.  
"All the better, or I wouldn't be doing this..."


	13. Lucci - Breaking the rules

He was gone. Gone, forever. The galley man you had been in love with for five years had betrayed everyone in this city and left you behind.  
"Lucci..."; you sighed sadly and threw yourself into your soft bed, which groaned under your pike. Dust swirled up and buzzed around your head, dancing in the light of the incoming sunrays. Your gaze wandered out the window, it was a beautiful day. Sun, not a cloud in the sky and the inhabitants of Water 7 put their daily routine back in order after the big Aqua Laguna. But for you it would never be the same again, not where your great love had turned out to be a traitor...  
"Hey, kid!" Pauly stormed into your room but you only looked at him sadly. He understood and also put on a gloomy face.  
"I see," he mumbled and sat down at the end of your bed. "How do you feel about it, huh?"  
"Shit," you muttered and could feel the lump in your throat, which was painfully tight. In a moment you would cry, great... But Pauly was your best friend, so it was kind of okay if he saw you crying. Wouldn't be the first time, because often you had run to him with your chaos of emotions and had spoken to the shipbuilder.  
"I can't believe he's gone..." Your words were dull, tears started rolling down your cheeks and dripping on your pillow. "I can't believe it!" A deep sob shook you and Pauly put his arm around your shoulders to pull you closer.  
"Sure, it was a shock to all of us," he just replied, leaning his back against the wall. "Also that Kalifa and Kaku were traitors. But I know it hurts you more when it comes to Lucci. He liked you and you know it. "But he worked for the government, doing nothing..."  
"Do you really think he liked me...?" you asked quietly, leaning against your friend.  
"He was noticed," was the cool answer and you had to smile a little.  
"I will miss him," you muttered and wiped your eyes with the back of your hand.  
"Me too."

"How is he?" Kalifa asked anxiously and looked hopefully at the doctor.  
"He will get well," he replied and opened the door of the sickroom. "Please, he needs a lot of rest." The blond nodded and followed the doctor, but took a last look at the badly injured Rob Lucci. He was wrapped in bandages and breathing shallowly, numbed by medication. After they had escaped thanks to Bruno, they were taken to a small island where the former CP9 was trying to escape the government. Spandam had not been very happy when they lost so miserably against the straw hats.  
Lucci was fast asleep, which would speed up his recovery, and he dreamed of his five years in Water 7. How he had met you...  
He liked your laugh, because it was honest. He liked the shine of your hair and the color that looked best on you of all women. He knew he had a job to do, but why not enjoy the beautiful women? You had to indulge yourself once in a while... In the beginning, he had only found you nice, pretty and quite pleasant company. But as he had spent more and more time with you over the years, he had gone so far as to actually 'like' you, which was really unusual for him as an agent.  
Every time he had seen you visiting your best friend Pauly on Dock 1, he had come to see you, talked to you - or rather, listened to you mostly - and on especially good days you even met with the other craftsmen in Bruno's bar to celebrate together. In some rare moments, your eyes met and he admired your extraordinary eyes, which he had never seen before. But the moment was quickly over, which you both regretted.  
He did not think about being an agent that night. That he was a murderer, a murderer for justice. He bought you a drink, you told him stories of everything you could think of and at the end of the evening you looked into each other's eyes, deep and long. You really, really liked each other. But it broke the rules that he loved you.  
He could not break the rules of justice, that would be unforgivable...

Lucci woke up and twitched briefly in pain. The realization of the defeat against the straw hat was still missing for a short time, he had to think of you. He sighed briefly and turned his head to the window, where the sun shone brightly and friendly on the forests of the island.  
Yes, he would miss you.  
Even if it was against the rules...


	14. Law - Waiting

You sat on the railing, next to you Bepo, who cheerfully told you the latest adventures of the Heart Pirates. When the white bear told you something, he usually deviated completely from the actual topic and ended up in some other story, which confused you, but you laughed in the right places and nodded always, which made him very happy. Only the real reason why you always visited Law's ship when you could was the captain himself. Of course, nobody in his crew knew, but you had always been in love with the surgeon. He was your counterpart, your soul mate. Of course, you would never tell anyone, because you were not really a couple after all. Now and then, if your time allowed, you visited the submarine of the gang, where you were always lovingly welcomed by Bepo. The bear almost loved you, always hugged you tightly and nestled his soft white fur against your face. The other crew members had also gotten used to your visits, greeted you warmly and invited you to celebrate below deck. Often you stayed for the festivities, because Law was often present. Now and then your eyes met, he grinned and then looked away. You were sure that you loved him, something like that could simply not be misinterpreted as a woman. But the black-haired man just didn't love you. You were something like an affair, a toy to use and throw away.  
"Hey, sugar bump." When you thought of the devil! Law came up to you with his sword over his shoulder and the hint of a grin on his face. "So you'll drop by again sometime?" You nodded slightly and stroked Bepo over the head, who was very happy to see you. You remembered how Law and you found the bear, all alone and rejected by his mother. He was almost tiny at the time, a helpless little bear. At first you took care of him, but when he unexpectedly learned to speak, Law took him out to sea with him, and to this day he is a permanent member of the Heart Pirates. Earlier, you thought grumpy. Before, Law had been different. He had often promised to get you sometime, so you could go to sea with him. He never did.  
The surgeon approached you and leaned forward.  
"Tonight, my boys want to celebrate. I guess I'll see you both tonight when they're all drunk," he whispered into your ear and goose bumps ran down your neck. You definitely weren't averse, even if you wanted more than a purely physical relationship. But what could it be, better that way than nothing at all. So you nodded briefly and started to scratch Bepo behind your ears. Law went on to his crew, who lounged on deck in the sun and let the day end in a relaxed manner. The Heart Pirates roared when your flock just mentioned the word 'drinking' and immediately they ran around in a hurry, fetching the rum from the bow and taking it to the dining room. The cook was heated up to make sure that he conjured up enough dishes so that everyone was fed for the evening. All in all it seemed to be a good party.

"Hey kiddo, why don't you come with me?" you heard someone mumbling next to you. You turned around and looked Law in the face, who leaned on the table drunk so as not to fall over. It was now the middle of the night, half the crew lying unconscious in the corners of the ship, groaning to themselves. You ignored the liquor corpses and followed your swarm up on deck. You were already very well drunk by now and wobbled slightly back and forth with every step you took.  
"What do you want," you asked irritatedly as he grabbed you by the hand and pulled you energetically upwards.  
"I'll tell you right away."; he murmured, climbing over Bepo, who lay in the middle of the corridor and slept to push open the door to the deck. The fresh night air hit you like a plank in front of your head and suddenly you became dizzy. Law grabbed your waist, pressed you to the railing and forced a kiss on you. You already knew the trick when he aggressively surprised you to make you his. But why would you prevent that now, when it could hardly be prevented anyway.  
But he suddenly broke off the whole thing and looked evasive to the side.  
"Everything okay?", you asked, irritated by this change of heart. Normally, once Law was on the move and had set his sights on his goal, nothing could stop him. Then he was like a predator that hunted until he had what he wanted.  
"It's not okay!!!", he shouted and kicked the railing, which had some deep cracks in it. Startled, you retreated a little, shocked by the sudden outburst of rage.  
"Trafalgar," you hissed and grabbed his hand as he drove through his face with the other. "What's the matter with you?" Again he turned to you, grabbed your neck, and kissed you stormy again. What was wrong with the man, that he went crazy like that?! He detached himself from you, put his forehead against yours and closed his eyes.  
"You can't come here anymore." Your jaw dropped. Why all of a sudden?  
"But why?" you hit him and he buried a hand in your hair.  
"Oh, it's nothing, um... Just, you know." He always stammered when he was drunk, especially when you were alone together. His words blurred and he rarely mumbled anything, especially when he was about to fall asleep. But at that moment you wanted to know what was on his tongue. He didn't look at you, his gaze wandered everywhere but to you.  
"It is too dangerous. That's all you need to know.", he whispered and gave you a tender kiss on the forehead. A lump was in your throat as you clung to his shirt.  
"Too dangerous...!", you said in a husky voice. "I'm a pirate, you idiot! Nothing is too dangerous for me!"  
"That's what you say!" he rumbled and broke away from you. Law leaned against the railing and grabbed his head. "Because you do not understand! You don't understand what-"  
"Oh, I don't understand!" you shouted, beside yourself with rage. You knew exactly what was going on here, he wanted to get rid of you at last! He wanted to end his sweet little bedtime story with you, which made you fall into a desperate rage. You could not lose him, you could not lose him, not the man you loved!  
"You just don't want me to come here," you continued your nagging. "You miserable scumbag, just because you don't love me, as I've always loved you!"  
There. It was out. Now he knew it. He looked up, amazed, and rose from the railing to grab you by the neck with his other hand at your back. Never had he kissed you like that, never had it been so loving. Otherwise he had always pushed you, seduced you and was only after sex. But this time he put feeling into the kiss, was gentle and tender as never before. He let go of your lips and took you in his arms.  
"But of course I love you," he whispered and your heart seemed to blossom with joy, like a flower in spring. "But we're both pirates, you can't do this - and you know it. So you can't come any further."  
"Now talk to me in plain language," you asked him and he looked at you uncertainly. He seemed to be considering whether he should really tell you. But since he had already poured his heart out to you, he could tell you the reason why you shouldn't visit the Heart Pirates anymore right to your face.  
"I am one of the seven samurai now," he said softly and let go of you when you opened your eyes in fright.  
"You are working with the Navy now? But, Law!", you groaned desperately. "What the fuck... You hate the Navy!"  
"I got my reasons," he sighed and took you in his arms again "Let me worry about that... But don't come here again. It's safer for you if you stay away." You knew he wanted to protect you, he's wanted to do that since you were little. But now you were grown up, you could take care of yourself, so he should mind his own business.  
"Trafalgar, I-"  
"No." He cut off the word and brushed a strand of hair from your face. "I guess we'll have to be apart for a while..."  
"How long is a while?", you asked and a small tear rolled quietly down your cheek, which he wiped away energetically and put on a grin.  
"I have no idea, but... I will wait. You know me, little one, I can wait a long time."  
You nodded, happy that even a mad man like him could show feelings towards a woman. Even if you wouldn't see each other for a while, that was somehow okay. As long as you would see each other again, everything was okay...  
"I will wait for you, too... Law..."


	15. Mihawk - Cat

"It's okay... You seem really hungry." Tenderly you stroked the tousled kitten and moved the bowl of leftover food closer to her. The poor thing was emaciated and the fur was shaggy. Still she was trustful, even if it was perhaps because of the enormous hunger. How much you would like to take the little one inside, but unfortunately the landlord didn't like it when you brought animals in again. The owner of the big castle was not too sunny, but since you kept everything in good order, you were tolerated and got a fabulous meal. Although your daily routine consisted of cleaning, cooking and cleaning up after the landlord, he was very friendly towards you. Mihawk Dulacre, called Hawkeyes, was a serious man and very seldom joked. Therefore he put all the animals outside that he found in the property. Almost every day you found birds, cats, toads or any other animal you wanted to keep.  
It was often lonely in the castle when Hawkeyes was gone. Sometimes he was sent away for weeks by the navy and then you were alone with the darkness and silence. Hawkeyes had saved you a few years ago, which didn't look very much like him, but you were very grateful to him for that. Even if you didn't look at him, he had a very soft core under his hard shell. Pirates were said to be cold and brutal - which was true somehow - but the samurai was more human than you could imagine. Only when it came to pets he didn't have such a big heart like you.  
"I'll smuggle you in somehow... you can't stay out here in the rain...", you whispered to the cat, which greedily devoured the leftovers from the day before. And it was true, the sky dropped all the water it had saved, surely only to annoy you. Rain meant water and water meant a lot of wiping, since the roof of the estate had a few holes here and there. But the little cat cheered you up a bit when she mewed quietly. You grabbed her carefully and lifted her to your chest. The small purring ball of fur snuggled up to you, enjoying the closeness to you to the fullest.  
"Are you cute...!", you sighed and locked the door behind you. Where to put the kitten now? Last time you had hidden the kittens in the attic, but Hawkeyes soon found out. When cats got hungry they meowed and you were stupid to think that the swordmaster wouldn't hear that. He had brought all the cats outside and just looked at you angrily. What did he have against the cute little animals? He was rarely at home anyway.  
You crept into your bedroom and quietly closed the wooden door, being careful not to make a sound. Mihawk had returned last night from a trip to a dangerous island in the New World and had received a wound from it. This was extremely rare, but as you had heard, his missions were very tough. All morning you had cleaned and bandaged Hawkeyes' wound, forced him to lie down in bed, and most importantly you had mopped the entrance hall. Bleeding, the samurai had been lying there all night until you noticed in the morning that he had collapsed there. It was a mystery to you who could have done such a thing to him, after all he was a very capable fighter and the best swordsman in the world!  
But the main thing was that he was healthy again very soon. Every second with him was wonderful for you and the most beautiful for you on earth. He was a good-looking, strong and somehow loving man, even if he had his peculiarities. But didn't everybody have them? Your quirk was to save every animal you came across. Just like that cute little cat that curled up on your pillow purring loudly while you continued to scratch its soft fur. It wouldn't be long before the landlord would notice her, then he would surely take her outside again and scold you. And as if he had smelled it, you heard heavy footsteps coming down the hall.  
"Damn it," you hissed and grabbed the kitten carefully by the belly to lock her in the closet. Maybe you were lucky and he didn't notice this time immediately.  
No sooner had you locked the heavy cabinet door than the door to the room, on which the swordsman stood in the room, opened. His piercing eyes rested on you and you tried to look as innocent as possible.  
"Ah, Hawkeyes, how are your wounds? Are you in pain?" you babbled and ran towards him. He raised his hand as a sign that you should stop.

"Another one?" he asked calmly. It wouldn't help to lie, you knew that. Ashamed and caught, you looked down and nodded slowly. Your hand pointed to the closet and Mihawk sighed up. He followed your lead and opened the two wooden doors. The kitten looked at him with big, round eyes and mewed pitifully.  
"Please let me keep her," you begged and threw yourself on the bed with a swing to make it look more dramatic. "Please let me keep her. I'm always so alone when you're not here, you know that!"  
"I don't want those beasts in my house," he replied coolly and picked up the kitten. But the cat began to purr loudly again and snuggled up to the swordsman.  
I could see how he hesitated briefly, because as hard as the man was, the kitten was sweet enough to melt away. But even if he found her cute like you, he could hardly admit that to you. So he turned around, pressed the bundle into your arms and nodded his head towards the window.  
"Okay...", you grumbled and crept depressed down the hallway to the kitchen to put the kitten out again. The shining, round eyes stared sadly at you when the little one was sitting in the rain and you had to turn away for better or worse. The pitiful meowing hurt your heart as you closed the door and made your way to Hawkeyes' room to change his bandages.  
"Knock, knock." You simply entered without waiting for any reaction. You were angry, very angry and hurt because he wouldn't let you have a pet. Couldn't he understand that an animal meant company for you? Oh, what did you care, he was a man and they didn't understand that. "Time for a new bandage," you grumbled and sat down on his bed next to Hawkeyes. Wordlessly he accepted it when you began to unwind the old bandage from his chest. The white linen was saturated with blood from the large cut on his right side. You had to be very careful not to open the wound again, because then he would bleed again like a pig.  
"Why do you always take them all away from me?" you could ask yourself after a few minutes. "You keep me company." His amber eyes turned to you and he sat down for a moment.  
"I just don't like it when they're in here," he replied, twitching almost imperceptibly to the side as you pulled the bandage off a little too roughly. You really shouldn't do such things when you were angry with the swordsman. You already felt a little pity for him, the wound was no picnic, even for someone like him. But he had forced you to put the poor thing back in the rain and you resented it.  
"And why do you bring everything that could be a pet in any way?" he countered annoyed, while you started to wrap the new bandage around him. Since his muscles made him much wider than you, you had to get close to him, otherwise you could hardly reach around his upper body.  
"Because otherwise I'm always lonely and alone when you're away," you began to explain quietly. "Especially when you're away for so long again... I need company."  
"I think you like being alone?" the black-haired man looked at you in wonder.  
"Are you crazy? It's terrible here without you," you growled angrily and pulled the bandage much too tight, whereupon the hawk's eye flinched in pain.  
"Hey!", he snarled at you and grabbed your wrist. This single touch alone made you blush slightly, which of course did not remain hidden from him. "Be more careful."  
"Y-yeah... I'm sorry...", you mumbled embarrassedly, but Hawkeyes didn't let go of your wrist, but instead raised his hand higher and enclosed yours.  
"I can do this on my own," he murmured to you and you nodded tentatively. Your cheeks became hotter and hotter as he stared at you and gently squeezed your left hand. His gaze wandered briefly to the window where lightning flashed across the sky. A thunderstorm, and apparently a very strong one, was approaching. "I think you should bring the cat inside until the storm is over."  
A smile crept to your lips as he said that. His deep voice had taken on a tone of voice that promised you it would not be just for the thunderstorm. Radiant, you jumped up, kissed the swordsman on the cheek and rushed to the back door to rescue the little ball of fur from the storm.


	16. Fukaboshi - Delicate

Very nervously you wrestled with your hands. In a few minutes you would arrive at the castle of King Neptune, for the great celebration that took place every four years. It was an honor to be invited to this ball. Your father was a respected jeweler and the fact that he was a fish-man had not prevented him from making a lot of money in the upper world. Through his wealth you too had become a noble young lady. For your father's sake, you took part in events that were not your cup of tea. You were disgusted by the noble behavior of the fine ladies, but what did you do for your old man. And you also looked forward to the three princes and Shirahoshi, with whom you had become friends through the close business relationship of your fathers.  
"Miss, we are here." Your father's valet helped you down from the coachman fish that had brought you from your estate to the palace. With wide eyes you marveled at the festive decorations on the columns and walls. The small luminous fish emitted their soft light like fireflies and enveloped the whole palace in a magical atmosphere. Your nervousness rose even more as you turned away from the servant and swam to the large double doors at the entrance. The two ministers of King Neptune greeted and welcomed all the guests. With a clear throat you joined the queue of those waiting and fiddled with your hairstyle. Your hair was a braided coiffure decorated with pearls, and even on your tail fin there were jewels and pearls attached. It annoyed you terribly to have to dress up like that, but maybe you could finally get some attention for someone special. You couldn't count the years you were already in love with Prince Fukaboshi. You had known the royal siblings for eight years and from the beginning you got along well with Fukaboshi. Since you had the same age, your father was convinced to couple you with the merman. This was of course very disrespectful and every time your father brought up the subject you blushed and started to stutter - against your will. Of course you were addicted to the blue-haired young man from top to bottom, but your old man didn't have to tell everyone that! And really everybody knew it - except Fukaboshi himself. You seldom saw each other and you never got a word out about your feelings for him. Maybe that was just as well, you couldn't just confess your love to the crown prince, that didn't bother your stand. If only you were a princess...  
"Hey!", you heard a voice next to you and turned around. Manboshi, the happy youngest of the royal family, grinned broadly at you.  
"Manboshi! It is so good to see you," you greeted him and he took you by the wrist.  
"Come with me quietly, this is taking far too long here!" You were dragged behind his back by the ministers and with a laugh you turned away the surprised faces of the two of them.  
"How is Shirahoshi? And Ryuuboshi," you asked, but you could ask them yourself. You were dragged by the fat prince to the banquet table, where a seat was reserved especially for you. Manboshi pushed you onto the finely decorated chair and you were amazed at the amount of food. Dishes made of all kinds of seaweed, soft corals and the famous sweets of the island had been prepared.  
"You are very late," Fukaboshi remarked teasingly and you blushed. He often teased you, even if you knew he didn't mean it. Shirahoshi was immediately cheerful and greeted you stormy, while Ryuuboshi held back a little. Politely, you bowed your upper body before King Neptune, but he waved away. The great ruler of Fishmen Island was very fond of you and you could guess that your father had talked about your emotional life with him. And indeed, the great merman asked you to take the place next to Fukaboshi. With an inner sigh you settled down at his side. Ts, Fathers!

The banquet was wonderful and it tasted delicious! After three overloaded plates, you leaned in your chair, completely saturated, and sighed contentedly. That was the life!  
"Be careful, you'll put on weight," you heard the blue-haired man next to you and snorted in indignation.  
"Shut up," you hissed and the merman grinned at you with a challenging grin. He was a very serious and polite prince who always had only the best for his future country in mind. But in front of you he turned into a cheeky young man who always had a nasty saying on his lips. You're not quite sure why he did that - either he liked you, or you were just his outlet. It wasn't easy being a crown prince and everyone had to let off steam.  
After the banquet, King Neptune was overrun by important guests and friends of the house and was very busy. You had moved to the balcony where the night had cooled the water. It was a very fresh current that was flowing around your upper body, but you liked the tender goose bumps.  
"Hey, tired already?" Fukaboshi came up to you and leaned against the railing, the Are crossed in front of your chest.  
"Not at all," you countered, resting your chin on your hands and your elbows on the railing. Now he wanted to annoy you again!  
But suddenly Fukaboshi's look became very serious. Pleased that he finally let go of you, you stared at the castle garden, which seemed very deep and mysterious in the dark.  
"Manboshi told me that you are in love with me."  
The cold drink you just took found the wrong way and coughing - as well as fire-red - you patted your chest.  
"HE HAS WHAT?!" Angrily you clenched your fist, which you would have preferred not to do. The glass in your hand broke under the pressure and although you dropped it immediately, a large shard cut into your hand.  
"Ouch! What a mess!" you started to moan and blood was lost in the water around you. Worried, Fukaboshi immediately grabbed your arm and carefully eyed the wound.  
"Why did you break the glass," he asked irritatedly and removed the last splinters with great care. "Idiot!"  
"Don't talk to me like that," you snorted and wiped your tears from the corner of your eye. It did hurt, but the horror was much worse than the injury itself. Besides some smaller cuts, there was a larger one that bled, but it was already starting to clot. The blue-haired man was still holding your hand and you wished that this would have been the case in a more romantic situation.  
There was silence between you for a few minutes until he looked at you from your injury and your face became even redder. What was he staring at now?  
"Do I have something on my face?!", you snorted, more out of embarrassment than out of anger. He seemed a little nervous, swallowed briefly and cleared his throat.  
"Well, is my brother right?", he asked quietly and still didn't let go of your hand.  
"Eh-" You grabbed your chest. That he still thought about it now! Instead of getting a bandage so you couldn't bleed all over the place...  
"Tell me! Is he right?" he asked more forcefully and came closer to you.  
Should you tell him? Something inside you was much too shy to tell him. On the other hand - if not now, then when?  
"I-I - eh, yes, he is right. I am in love with you." Wonderful, on your face they could have fried squid, it felt so hot. Now it was all over, now it was out! He would laugh at you and you could never face him again!  
But against all expectations he bent down to you and kissed you tenderly. He was so careful, almost asking. Inside you rejoiced, he seemed to like you too! Fukaboshi was really interested in you! Then you realized: You were kissing the prince!  
With a squeak you pushed him away and he too had a subtle red shimmer on his cheeks. He seemed upset about your reaction and wanted to ask what was going on when you crashed into him.  
"I can't just kiss the prince like that," you hissed in a high voice and stared at the ground. "I am not a princess!"  
He just laughed and pressed a more pressing kiss on your lips.  
"Don't worry, I will make you my princess!"


	17. Smoker - Keeping a secret

You sat on your swivel chair with your chin supported on your hands and looked at the man in front of you. He was unconscious - or rather sedated - and according to the cut on his face, it was a tough fight in the new world. You rarely left the G5 quarters, but the men came to you daily with fresh wounds and broken bones.  
As a navy doctor, you really had a hard time, especially considering that they had stationed you in the G5 because of your outstanding work. A sigh escaped you as you pulled yourself out of your thoughts and sat on the edge of the bed. His wound would not heal as quickly, that was for sure. He had taken quite a beating from the last pirates who made their way through the new world. Smoker was a strong man, but even he couldn't take on an entire crew by himself. Luckily he was still alive. A glance at the clock told you that it was time for dinner.  
Carefully you shook his shoulders to wake him gently. Not a good idea, since the vice admiral had set his senses to battle even in his sleep. He woke up, but within seconds he had grabbed you by the wrists and pushed them away from him, landing you on his upper body as a result.  
"Hey!" you complained and he realized that you were not a dangerous pirate; just a doctor who had patched up his face. With an embarrassed snort he let you go so that you could pull yourself away from him.  
"I just wanted to wake you up for dinner." you muttered and got up to smooth down your skirt. He didn't answer you, just ran his hand over the bandage on his face and moaned in pain. He still seemed a little dazed from the painkiller you had given him. Sure, he was a tough guy, but when you sewed his face you didn't want to know his attention on you. You were much more confident than Tashigi, but you had respect for him.  
"I'm not hungry," he grunted as you knocked his plate of food against his temple.  
"No way, you're eating something," you grumbled with a sour undertone and humming, he took your plate away. He was very pale and you were not surprised that his appetite was rather meager. When they brought him to you, the man was full of blood and you almost couldn't save his eye. He stayed here with you in the infirmary for at least another week, so he could grumble as much as he wanted!  
"Come on. You haven't eaten for two days," you tried to press him and with a reluctant look on the ground he began to shovel the stew into his mouth.  
Even if you were only a woman, the soldiers of this institution were scared to death of you. Since you were trying to expand your knowledge of medicine in every spare second, it was easy for you to turn off a body in minutes - with just a few simple steps. But that was to be expected, because in the New World nobody was to be fooled with!  
"The clatter of the dishes told you that he had eaten up and he handed you the empty plate.  
"As a reward, he got a warm smile from you and some morphine - the latter was probably best, as he sighed with relief after the injection. The injury in his face must have hurt like hell and you stroked sympathetically over his shoulder in passing.  
"How long are you going to keep me here," he asked and lay down on the hospital bed again, his arms crossed behind his head.  
"I know you won't listen to me anyway, but do me the favor of staying a few days at least. If your wound opens up again, I don't know if I can patch it up so that only a thin scar remains," you replied and ticked off something on his chart.

"So I'm locked up here with you for a few days?", you heard his voice with a slight undertone of lasciviousness. You rolled your eyes and knew exactly what it would lead to again.  
Your colleagues knew nothing about your affair and that was a good thing. What would Sakazuki think about the fact that one of his vice admirals slept with the best doctor in the whole damned Navy? He wouldn't be very enthusiastic, to put it vaguely.  
And indeed, you could feel two hands resting on your hip and pressing against the hot body of your superior officer. A smile came on your lips, but you didn't want your patient to think that you were getting carried away by his advances!  
"Back to bed," you scolded him, but he only reacted by running his hands down your blouse and looking for the fastener on your B-H. Sighing, you pulled his arms away from your body and turned to him.   
"To bed. Immediately." Your tone was stern and Smoker understood that there was nothing to get today. With a frustrated snort he obeyed you and returned to the horizontal. You could see his disappointment, but what kind of doctor would you be if you followed his wish - after all, his stitches might tear open again!  
Instead of letting your covers fall, you sat down with him on the bed and leaned over him to press a kiss on his forehead. Smoker looked at you confused, you had never done that before. But as he lay there, bored and frustrated, you felt sorry for him. Compassion was not your strong point, but he was an exception. He was a stubborn man, stubborn as a donkey and rash in almost everything he touched. That didn't bother you, it was part of his personality.  
You loved this unapproachable and quick-tempered young vice, but you certainly weren't that stupid and would rub it in his face. It was a silent agreement between you. You knew that he loved you too, it was more of a relationship than an affair. But as two such high-ranking members of the Navy, you were not allowed to have any feelings for each other. That was unfortunately one of the Golden Rules of World Government and sometimes you regretted it very much.  
"You seem so thoughtful." Smoker gently lifted your chin and looked at you with a questioning look. You smiled reassuringly and put your hand on his neck to draw him to your lips. After a tender kiss, you leaned your forehead against his and shook your head gently.  
"It's okay," you said and he kissed you again. He seemed to know what was bothering you and you could only guess that he felt the same way. But as loving as his kisses were, it gave you certainty.


	18. Caesar - Snow

On your clipboard you ticked off the last open point and were extremely pleased with yourself. Your list had been worked off and that meant: end of work! You carelessly threw the documents on the desk and you untied your pigtail with a sigh of relief.  
It was not that you didn't like your work, but sometimes it wasn't easy. Your boss was exhausting, and you were also uncomfortable with his research methods. His breakthroughs in science were breathtaking, but that he needed children for them was not in your spirit. But work was work and somehow you had to earn a living. At least he was nice to the little ones.  
Behind you, your boss emerged from a cloud of gas and looked over your shoulder to take a look at the clipboard. The first times he came out of nowhere like that, you were always very scared, but after the years you got used to it.  
"How's number 34 going," Caesar asked, leafing through the papers.  
"She's scared," you commented coolly and crossed your arms in front of your chest, "I think we should let her go back to the other children, if you ask me.  
"But I'm not asking you," hissed your boss and you noticed his irritable mood. For sure there had been trouble with Do Flamingo again. Then he snarled at you over every little thing and that got on your nerves. Today was an exhausting day and if he bitched again without any reason, he was in for a real treat!  
"I'm gonna take a shower now." You were just leaving when he grabbed you by the hair and pressed you against your desk. Scared, you gasped up - you were used to hard words from him, but he had never become violent before.  
"You will become nothing," he rumbled in your ear and pressed you even closer to the table with his body. The edge painfully bored itself into your back and you swallowed. Man, was he in a bad mood!  
"You will work until I tell you to stop!" That was it, now it was too much for you! He could tell you what to do, but even he shouldn't imagine that you put up with it!  
"No!" you spat and grabbed his wrist. "Fuck you!"  
His gaze turned icy when you said that. He hardly knew you and in his miserable mood it was a very bad idea. He roughly grabbed you in the neck and dragged you without words through the corridors of the laboratory.  
"What is this?!", you shouted at him and tried to resist. But he was much too strong for you and you were hanging defenseless in his grip. "Let me go!"  
"You want to lie around lazily? You're welcome to," he snorted and opened the large entrance door to the laboratory. Icy cold wind made you rise and a bad certainty overcame you. He wanted to throw you out!  
"Caesar! You can't do that," you begged him - outside there was only death by frostbite waiting for you. He snorted angrily and pushed you roughly into the snow. The cold already began to creep into your limbs and you saw in his gaze that he meant it seriously. With a loud thunder the door closed and you were alone in the frosty wasteland of Punk Hazard.

The climate of this island was an incredible phenomenon for you, but being exposed to it was even worse! The icy wind was blowing under your smock and with your arms around your own torso it wasn't much warmer. Damn Caesar, why was he such a hothead! The tears in the corners of your eyes were ice cold before they could roll down your cheeks. Since you only wore a skirt, the skin on your legs was already numb and hurt terribly. In desperation, a thought came into your head: That you would freeze to death here!  
But your pride kept you from knocking on the big front door of the laboratory and asking Caesar to let you back in. Pride was one of those things, either you had none or you died from it. And you were about to end up as a block of ice...  
With a groan you fell on your knees in the snow and started to cry. If you were going to die anyway, you might as well cry like a castle dog now. Your anger and frustration ran out with all those thick crocodile tears. The desperate anger at Caesar and the certainty that you had to die - even though you were so damn young!  
"CAESAR!", you shouted out with all your might, even though he could not hear you. The blizzard carried your voice away, leaving you all alone with its roar and howl. Your hands were freezing cold, but this aching and cold gave way to a warm and comfortable feeling. Your upper body tilted forward and the flakes nestled gently against your face. You were no longer cold and the fear began to fade. It was time, now you would freeze to death...

Two gentle hands pulled you out of the snow and you felt vaguely pressed against a warm body. The unconsciousness had already begun to cloud your mind and you didn't recognize the man who had picked you out of the ground and, with you in his arms, made his way through the storm to the laboratory. Exhausted, you opened your eyes a few millimeters wide. Black hair, so wild and frayed. Was that...? You recognized his smell and breathed deeply through your nose. Yes, it was him.  
Weakly you raised your hand and clawed your numb fingers into his coat.  
"Caesar..." you breathed, and he paused at the laboratory gate. He looked down at you and you gasped in surprise as you were pressed even closer to him. You looked up at him and saw him a little blurry but clear enough to recognize his face. His gaze was serious and he seemed to be very guilty.  
"I'm sorry I threw you out," he murmured and you realized how hard that apology must have been for him - after all, he was your boss. The hint of a smile came on your blue lips and with all the strength you could muster, you grabbed him by his long hair and pulled him down to you. He seemed extremely irritated by this, but he did not stop you from your plan. The kiss he allowed you to have warmed you up inside and the caution he put into it made you realize that he seemed to have a very bad conscience.

With a cough you reached for your cup of tea and cursed the climate of this island. A week after your involuntary trip to the frostbite, you had a violent cough. Your fever had been gone for two days and thanks to the devoted - rather guilty - care of a certain scientist you were, well, according to the circumstances, doing well. The cough was annoying and exhausting, but all day long there was always a hot cup of tea on your desk. You knew exactly who it was from. And there was enough sugar in it - he really seemed to know something about you.   
As if on cue, you felt a draft and two arms wrapped around your upper body. You smiled - after all, he knew how to apologize properly.


	19. Hawkins - Disease

Your view of the deck was clouded by the blizzard that had been holding your ship in this wasteland for two days. Your job as a navigator was to maneuver you around every storm - or even right through it - but the New World had some surprises in store. And now you were stuck with your ship in the middle of the frozen sea for two days and had to wait until the conditions had improved a bit. It was almost 20 degrees below zero, so it was not an option to simply break the ice. You had expected a lot, but nothing like this!  
With a red, runny nose, you scurried back below deck in your thick coat to Captain Hawkins' cabin. Shaking and trembling, you knocked on the wooden door and in the same second he called out that you should come in.  
"Captain, it still does not look good! I can't tell when we'll be able to sail again," you reported and could only think of a hot tea. You were so cold, you could hardly feel your fingers!  
The blond man sat at his card table and looked out of the snowy window. His gaze did not even touch you as he turned to his cards and reshuffled them after shuffling them. You waited eagerly for what he predicted.  
"There's a 5 percent chance that we'll be out at sea again within the next week," he murmured and seemed to say it more to himself than to you. He was always like that in his own world, you thought and had to smile.  
"You're going to get sick." His gaze was suddenly fixed on you and you stopped in surprise in the movement with which you were about to take off your coat.  
"I am not going to get sick! I was always dressed warmly," you replied, but part of you knew that everything the captain predicted was true. But you didn't want to get sick, damn it!  
"But you will. You'd better lie down, there's nothing to navigate at the moment anyway," he continued and began to shuffle the cards again. With a sigh you left his cabin and retreated to your own little chamber. As the only woman on board, you had the privilege of having your own bedroom - for which you were very grateful. The crew was not made up of saints and the captain was the only man on board who didn't crawl after you like a mangy dog. On the one hand, this was due to his calm and serene disposition, on the other hand you knew each other since childhood and this had turned your relationship into a friendship. As well as you knew him, he was a very strange man. In your youth you were terribly in love with him, but that had come about in time. Teenage love never lasted!  
But since about 6 months there was this tingling sensation again - but you stopped it with an upset stomach. Probably just something you ate badly, no love, just not. Of course you knew that no upset stomach would last for half a year, but making excuses for yourself was unbeatable!  
With a groan you threw yourself on your bed with the soft blanket and sighed heavily. A nap was certainly not wrong now - after all, it still took a long time until dinner! And if there were any problems, none of your Nakama ever had a problem with rushing into your cabin without knocking, hoping to catch you changing.

When you woke up, it was already dark outside. You frowned as you peeked out of your porthole. Was it really that late?  
But when you got up, a strong dizziness seized you and you quickly sat back on the mattress. The evil certainty crept over you that Hawkins was right again. The oppressive pain in your joints and the dizziness could only mean that you had actually caught a bad cold.  
"What a mess...", you cursed and staggered towards the galley to ask your Smutje for a whole pot of hot tea.  
The few who were still sitting together in the common room from dinner looked up from their conversations as you staggered in.  
"Everything okay?," Moku asked you, who was sitting closest to you.  
"I'm fine," you grumbled and wanted to go on to Smutje, when you stumbled over your own shuffling feet and Moku had to save you from a painful fall.  
"Never mind, I'll ask Hanji for some tea. You go to bed," he instructed you and embarrassed you nodded. Even though they all tried to get a glimpse of your underwear, if it was serious you could really rely on those idiots! And you had to look really horrible when they were so kind to you...

The cold had it in itself! Your fever had risen sharply and the room was spinning even when you were lying in your bed! Although it was just an ordinary cold, you were besieged by your Nakama and they tried to win your affection by caring and helping you. After two hours of stupid babbling you got absolutely fed up and threw them all out of your bedroom.  
Your loud screaming and the men fleeing from your anger also caught the attention of the blond man who took pity on you and paid you a visit on the third evening. He knocked - in contrast to the entire crew - on your door before he entered and closed it again behind him to protect you poor bedridden from the eyes of his people.  
"Excuse them for being so pushy," he sighed and settled himself at the edge of your bed.  
"It's okay," you muttered and snuggled yourself deeper into your pillows. "You mean no harm."  
"That's because you're a woman. I should have used a male navigator," he teased you and you repaid him with a kick.  
"Idiot," you growled and straightened yourself up. With an enjoyable slurp you emptied your cup of tea and sighed.  
"I'll soon feel better, then I can help out again on board," you assured him with a smile. "That is why you are here, isn't it?"  
"I'm here for something else," he replied and looked at him in astonishment. What did he mean by that? Why else would he have come here? His gaze flitted treacherously to his cards and you growled disappointed. So it hadn't even been his own idea to visit you...  
"Always those stupid cards!", you crunched, but he just shrugged.  
"Without them you wouldn't be on this ship, you shouldn't speak ill of them."  
"Pff, I'm not laughing! They can't always be right!"  
You sank back into your bed and guiltily he stared at the ground. Even though he was a strange bird, he knew very well that you were not to be trifled with when he annoyed you!  
"I bet you would jump off a cliff if your stupid cards told you to! Or that you let someone shoot you in the head! Or get under the covers and cuddle with me until I fall asleep," you hissed irritatedly and crossed your arms in front of your chest. By now you were really angry with him and that only because of his shitty toys!  
"Hmm." You didn't know if he was doing it to annoy you, but he really started to shuffle the cards again - this idiot!  
But you made big eyes when he got up, took off his coat and boots and came to you under the blanket.  
"What are you-!"  
"Yes, I would do something like that, too, if the cards told me so," he cut off the word from you and you felt him pulling you into his arms. Bright red - and not from fever! - you did not know how you should react now.  
"Are you serious?!" you squealed. "Let me see the cards, now!" You reached for the small pile on your bedside table, but he caught your hand and looked away somewhat embarrassed.  
"No!"  
"Yes.  
"I said no!"


	20. X Drake - I can't

With a melancholic sigh you stared out of the window, which was snowed in from top to bottom. Only a small gap was free to look out. But what else should one look outside in this weather, how unnecessary!  
Your hand was clenched around a small piece of paper to a fist. Today was November 4th, finally. The day you had been waiting for weeks. After all these years it would finally come! Nervously you read the letter again in your hands. Three weeks ago it arrived and since then you were as excited as a child at Christmas. For seven years now you have been exchanging the latest news of your life every few weeks by mail. He was your only pen pal and every envelope was almost torn apart by you, so much you desired his words. And now he was anchored on your home island in the new world! Seven years and you could meet him personally!  
Your little hut on the last edge of the village was snowed in, but he was a great pirate, so he certainly didn't mind. So you had been hibernating all morning in the little wooden house, fixing everything up and even wiping the dust from the furthest corners.  
The excitement even caused you a stomach ache and you decided to use the excuse of chopping wood to wait for him outside - then you saw immediately when he climbed up the hill to your house. Thickly wrapped in a winter coat and scarf you opened your door and were greeted by an icy gust of wind. You cursed the bitter cold, but still you grabbed the hatchet on the porch and walked next to the house where a pile of wood was waiting eagerly to be processed. The work was sweaty and that was good, it warmed you up and kept you fit. The felt thousandth look at your watch made you step from one leg to the other. When did he come? Had there been problems at the port? There was a naval base here, but people lived on tourism and the landing pirates who spent their berries in the local stores. So the navy on this island was not very specific about the pirates. Only the rioters and plunderers were arrested and your dear pen pal was a decent man!  
The big pile of wood was even half finished - how long were you out here now; two, maybe three hours? It was already beginning to dawn, for which you cursed the damn winter again. Maybe he did not come...  
"Hey." The voice made you drive around scared and you didn't even notice that he had been standing behind you for a few minutes because of all the brooding.  
"DRAKE!," you cried out and immediately fell around his neck. He returned your embrace with the hint of a smile and you couldn't remember the last time you were so happy.  
"So, did you find your way here all right? What did you tell your team? or did you bring them?" you asked him and the grin on your face didn't want to stop.  
"Take it easy! They are at the harbor. I told them I had something important to do, they won't ask any more questions," he replied and you pulled him by the hand into your little house. Your mind couldn't really believe that he was really here. He let you press him onto your cuddly sofa without any objections and accepted with a 'Thank you' the cup of hot tea you had put on.  
"So, how is the New World? Have you plundered much yet?", you asked him and sat as close to him as you could. Of course, you didn't want to sit on his lap right away - admittedly, you would like to, but that would scare him off a bit. So you moved so close to him that your bodies touched very slightly. He seemed to notice it, but he said nothing against it.  
"So far we haven't had too much trouble," he explained succinctly, and you guessed that he was just trying to protect you by not telling you enough. You were a civilian, if the world government found out that you were friends with a pirate, you could expect trouble. The less you knew, the better.  
"It's so nice that you're finally here," you mumbled embarrassed and stared into your tea.  
"Yes, it is. Seven years is a long time," he replied and smiled warmly at you. You would never have dreamed that a wanted pirate could be such a lovable and friendly person! Through your letter contact you fell head over heels in love with him after only two years - but how could you teach him that?  
"Ah, Drake!", you started weighty and looked him firmly in the eyes. "There's something I have to tell you. I've wanted to tell you for a long time." But he shook his head to interrupt you.  
"I know what you want to say," he interrupted your courageous attempt and looked somewhat lost in thought at the fire from your fireplace. "And I would like to say the same to you."  
You took a deep breath to reply, but again he asked you to listen to him by raising your hand.  
"But I am a pirate and I cannot do this to you. I had great misgivings about meeting you, you must know. Because now that I know you personally and have seen you... I don't really feel like going back to sea alone, you know."  
You looked at him with eyes wide with astonishment and didn't quite know what to say. That was a confession of love from him, wasn't it? He really seemed to suffer from the fact that you got along so well and would not see each other again for a cruel, long time. Once he left this island, he wouldn't come back so quickly - you knew that, too. But would you take such a brave step and leave your whole life behind? Just to sail with him? That was the only solution you could think of...  
"Drake." You put your hand on his arm, which tore him away from his brooding. You placed the tea cups on the small coffee table and leaned forward to him. A broad grin lay on your face.  
"Idiot! I decided long ago to accompany you!" With his mouth open, he seemed to have to grasp the meaning of this sentence first.  
"No! You can't do that," he protested determinedly. "I won't let you throw your life away! You are such a beautiful young woman, you can't do that!"  
After you turned your eyes over his gibberish, you silenced him with an emphatic kiss. He was very surprised at the first moment, but did not let you wait long and pulled you gently towards him. Finally I can kiss him!, your stomach cheered, which felt as if a wild swarm of butterflies was trapped inside.  
"Nevertheless, my answer is no," he whispered, when you had moved a few millimeters from his lips. He looked at you with a look that told you exactly how much self-control he needed not to pounce on you. Apparently it was really lonely on ships, you thought, amused and buried your hands in his collar.  
"I'll make it a yes," you whispered suggestively and drew him back to you.


	21. Caesar - Covet

A glance at the test tubes told you that your experiment - until now - worked wonderfully. But already with your last attempt it had failed at the last, decisive step. With great hope you were about to add the last chemical when your boss materialized behind you and scared you almost to death. The fragile little glass almost fell out of your hand, just as you were able to hold on to it - that would have been a nice present!  
"Caesar!", you hissed, spurred on by the adrenaline. "Stop scaring me like that every time, damn it!"  
He just laughed and read through your notes of the experiment. He seemed a little impressed and pointed to the almost finished work.  
"Did you come up with the formula on your own or did you steal it from someone," he asked challengingly and you put up your goggles.  
"I am a scientist too! I don't have to steal from anyone," you growled annoyed and added the contents of the small tube to the solution. It steamed up briefly and smelled terribly of burnt plastic - until it took on a pale pink color and smelled sweetly of flowers.  
"And what is this? It is not poison." Caesar took another look at your transcript and his gaze had a questioning expression. A smile flashed across your face. You took your time with the answer until you had taken off your lab coat and goggles.  
"Oh, I have found some very interesting studies that I have deepened," you said and your voice took on an ominous tone. "It's a pheromone."  
"Pheromone? What are we supposed to do with it?! You are supposed to develop new poisons," he scolded you and threw the pieces of paper with your notes into the trash. "That's useless!"  
"Perhaps for you," you purred and tapped your fingertips into the glass to spread a few drops of the liquid on your neck and wrists.  
The idea with the pheromone had come to you over time, since you were on an island where there wasn't a single man who didn't have a horse's backside and wasn't such a conceited idiot as Trafalgar Law - except one. A woman had needs that needed to be met! And since Caesar always had his head in his work, you just had to help a little. Monet had gotten you the necessary documents and only commented on your project as 'funny entertainment'. After you had studied the formula carefully, you had finally succeeded in creating the pheromone today!  
Caesar also seemed to interpret your look quite well and took a few steps back from you.  
"Don't you dare...!" he hissed and when you put on a dirty grin, he retreated even further. "I am your boss!" Quickly he held the sleeve of his coat in front of his face so as not to inhale the scent of the pheromone - although he had to admit that it smelled very seductive. He seemed to have no better idea than to try to get away. As if you hadn't expected that from him...  
Too good that he didn't hire you just for your intellect, your fighting experience easily kept up with Monet's. With a few big sentences you were with him and with a click he had a metal bracelet on his wrist.  
"Stone," you whispered to him and saw the rage in his gaze. Now it was no longer possible for him to turn into gas in any way and thus escape. Checkmate!  
"Cut the crap," he snarled at you, but you were so close to him that the pheromones did their work. He paused in his movement and seemed to resist the beguiling scent - in vain.  
You pressed your hands around his neck against him, with a look that would have softened the knees of any man in the world. He swallowed, fought and yet the pheromone won the fight, which was lost from the very beginning. With a jerk you were pressed against the metal wall of the laboratory and could feel his heavy breaths on your skin. He still seemed to wrestle with himself, but his gaze made it clear: Today was the day when your needs were on the line, not the damn science!  
"You'll pay for that again," he rumbled and stared angrily into your eyes. Okay, you gladly accepted that for one night with him!  
"Then let me pay for it now," you breathed his lips and, driven by his manipulated hormones, he came at you like a wild animal - which was of course what you wanted.

When you woke up in the morning you wanted to stretch extensively - but someone was in your way. After a short blink you could recognize wild black hair and giggled triumphantly. Man, had that been necessary!   
He still seemed to be fast asleep, so you turned as gently as possible out of his embrace and slipped into your leisure clothes. You enjoyed the first coffee of the day to the full as usual and it awakened all your spirits. After three quarters of an hour of peace and quiet, you heard footsteps and knew exactly who it was.  
"Good morning, sunshine," you warbled in high spirits and poured some coffee - black, without milk or sugar - into a second cup and held it up. The disgruntled scientist tore the cup away from you and looked at you with an angry look.  
"What was that about?!" he hissed with a bad mood, but you could swear that it was just an act.  
"Don't complain." You turned to him and put a dirty smile on your lips. "You had your fun too!"  
Snapped, he didn't answer and you knew that he didn't know what to do against this argument. With a laugh you took your coffee and gave him a kiss on the cheek.  
"But good to know what other qualities my boss has besides weapons of mass destruction," you whispered lasciviously in his ear and pressed a small key into his hand. "For the sea stone bracelet."  
You wanted to leave the room when you paused and turned to him again.  
"I'm going to take a shower now. If you want, you can come with me." And with that, you disappeared into your private bathroom.  
Caesar took a sip of his coffee, took the annoying bracelet off his wrist and thought for a moment. Without further ado, he put the mug on the table and followed you in a hurry.


	22. Kid - Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> another old ooc OS... hehe have fun tho

The dishes were done and satisfied you put the small vase on the kitchen table. The poppy flower in it was already a little withered, but that wasn't too bad, since half of your garden was filled with the flowers. You could simply exchange them. Your gaze wandered outside out the window, where it was a pleasantly warm summer day. The trees carried apples, cherries and pears; the flowers swayed gently in the breeze. It was a perfect day, with great weather and yet you were very sad. Yesterday had been your hated anniversary again. Five years he had been at sea. Five years and not a sign of life from him. I wonder what happened to Eusstass. Whether he had sailed around the world? In the newspapers you had followed his path as best you could, and indeed he should have circumnavigated the world soon. Although the straw hat had won the title of Pirate King, Eusstass Kid never gave up. Even if he wasn't King of the Pirates, at least he would have circumnavigated the world once. And you waited longingly for the day of his return. In the five years you thought of him every day with growing longing. If only he would finally come back!  
With a loud rumble the door flew open and your neighbor Maya came running into your apartment.  
"Can't you knock," you shouted annoyed, but she was completely out of breath and had to catch her breath before she answered you. She grabbed you by the wrist and pulled you to the door, extremely excited.  
"What's the matter?!", you asked irritated, but let yourself be dragged along. When Maya made such a fuss about something, it had to be something exciting! Her eyes shone with anticipation when she returned your gaze.  
"A ship has entered the harbor," she told you and dragged you across the main street of the small town. From everywhere, people came out of their houses, flocking en masse to the small harbor to see the ship there. It was a big ship, and you could already see the mast and the sails that were hoisted. Nervously you swallowed - could it be ...?  
"Come on!" Maya pushed you through the crowd until you both stood in the first row. "He's back!"  
Your eyes got big when you recognized the Jolly Roger of the ship. The other onlookers also recognized the flag and went back to their stores and houses - a pirate was not welcomed, let alone celebrated. They had not even said goodbye to him.  
With another push from Maya, your legs began to go further and further their way to the dock, your hands had cramped in your top. The crew unloaded crates, shouted swearwords at each other and laughed roughly at each other. You saw Killer, who had changed from a thin boy to a handsome, muscular man. He still wore his mask, but when he saw you, you were sure he was smiling.  
"Killer!", you shouted happily and with some big sentences you ran into his arms. He squeezed you heartily and stroked you over the head.  
"You've become a really beautiful young woman," he noted with a teasing undertone and briefly instructed his men to continue unloading the crates without him. He went on the ship with you in tow and seemed to know exactly who you wanted to go to. He stopped in front of Kid's cabin and pushed you through the leaning door without further words.  
"Ey-", you protested, but he pulled it shut behind you and so you stood with Eusstass Kid in a room that only looked at you in surprise.  
"Kid...", you muttered and looked at him. He had changed so much! He was about to start to say your name in surprise when you spoke to him.  
"What happened to your arm?!," you started to scream and were immediately with him to examine his metal arm. "Are you crazy! And that scar! You must have gotten involved with unnecessary fights again!"  
He was speechless, your first words after years were a ranting tirade. You were angry with him! Not one word over five long, lonely years and then he came back as half a machine?  
But instead of getting angry he started to laugh hard and pulled you into an embrace.  
"Man, I missed that!" he whispered to you and with eyes wide with wonder you looked up at him. His grin had not changed a bit over the years, unlike the rest of his body. Rock-hard muscles could be felt under your hands that lay trembling on his chest.  
"Kid!" you sobbed and cried with joy, throwing your arms around his neck.  
"Crybaby!", he raised you and you wiped the tears from your face with the back of your hand. Let him be happy that you liked him so much! After all, you had waited so long for him that not every woman did...  
And just at the moment you had this thought in your head, he bent down to you and kissed you stormy. He was just as wild as before, only his kisses had become much softer. Five years ago he was a stubborn, stubborn teenager - now he was a young man who knew exactly what he wanted. Lifting yourself up from the floor with ease and hugging you so tightly that you could hardly breathe.  
"Kid!", you giggled and returned his look - he looked so happy! He must have missed you as much as you missed him! Hard to believe that there was a cruel pirate standing in front of you with a bounty of several hundred million berries. He didn't look like a civilian, but in his eyes you could see what was going on inside him.  
He was always an open book for you - then as now. It wasn't very difficult to read in him, especially since he never had his tantrums well under control. But now there was only pure joy in his eyes and he let you go so that you could breathe again.  
A short kiss on your forehead and you took him by his remaining hand.  
"Come!", you said and wanted to pull him with you. Irritated, however, he stopped.  
"Where to? I must give my men a hand here," he replied and you gave him a clear look.  
"We have a lot of catching up to do," you replied simply and he understood. Before you knew it, he had thrown you up over his shoulder, ready to drag you back to your apartment.


	23. Corazon - Words

With a giggle you fell on the big canopy bed and pulled the blanket around your naked body. The blond man followed you under the soft cloth and locked you in his arms. He buried his face in the crook of your neck and sighed silently. Your gaze caught his eyes and you gave the blond man a broad grin.  
His hands got lost in your tangled hair and he began to play with a strand of hair. You watched the blond from the corner of your eye, with a crooked smile on his face. He did not speak a word. He never did. How could he when he lost his voice all those years ago? And yet the blond had managed to get you into bed - and not for the first time. Your secret dalliance was something wonderful and absolutely forbidden in the Donquixote family. And yet you met almost every evening in one of your rooms and enjoyed some quality time.  
It was a lonely life in this pirate family and you longed only too often for someone to pass the time with you. Between the raids and conquests it could get boring and Corazon was the only one in this crew who was not an idiot.  
You were the cook of this crew and the fact that you were standing in the kitchen for hours every day didn't make your life much more exciting. Day after day you stared into the pots and pans and even if you were very good at your job, you would much rather have a different job. You found cartography very exciting, but unfortunately you knew almost nothing about navigation.  
You had to conjure up dishes and keep the children under control.

"Law is being annoying again!" Baby 5 ran around your legs with tears in her eyes.  
"Then don't let yourself gettin' annoyed, duh." you replied, but placed yourself protectively in front of the little girl when Law, followed by Buffalo, came running into the kitchen.  
"Baby 5 started the fight!" The little one with the cap started ranting immediately, but you cut him off with an impatient hand movement.  
"I _so_ don't care who started it! Stop teasing Baby 5!" With a troubled groan, you reached for your wooden spoon when you saw the reluctant flash in Law's eyes. "Apologize or else!"  
He hesitated for a moment, but then, with a sinister expression, he shook hands with Baby 5 and apologized softly.  
"There you go! Now go on, set the table." You sent the children, loaded with plates, glasses and cutlery, to the big dining table in the belly of the ship and turned back to your tomato sauce. After further seasoning, you found the sauce to be a success and stretched your shoulders in satisfaction.  
It was really not easy to cater to a large crew, but you were happy to do so. This pirate gang had become your family, even though all members of this family were a bit strange.  
Doffy was simply insane, Trebol was repulsive, and Pica's high-pitched voice...   
And it was exactly his voice that echoed over from the big dining room to your kitchen - apparently Law was getting on his nerves again. You listened to Pica's squeaky whining and giggled softly.  
Two warm hands lay on your waist from behind and you felt someone pressing against your back. Your hands slid back and you pulled Corazon a little closer to you. You turned your head towards him and noticed his questioning look. He wanted to know what you thought was so funny and you put a finger on his lips - the gesture he should listen to the noises coming from the dining room.  
A clattering and Pica's high-pitched screeching was heard Corazon snorted amused.  
He caught your gaze, nodded silently to the pots full of food and then towards the dining room. He asked if you needed help with the food, but you shook your head gently.  
"No, the children will help. When they've stopped making Pica go crazy."  
The blond buried his face in the crook of your neck and sighed deeply and heavily. Your hands were buried in his hair and you leaned against him."Really, Cora. This is dangerous. What if Doffy finds out? He won't think it's very funny that his precious baby brother is sleeping with the _kitchen maid_."  
Cora lifted his head and looked into your eyes thoughtfully. You wondered inwardly what he was suddenly thinking about, but before you could think about it any further, he grabbed you by the wrist and pulled you along with him.  
"Cora, where are you going with me?!", you shouted, knowing that you would only know when you had reached your destination. Determined, he dragged you through the bow of the ship, all the way up to the deck, where his brother was standing with Baby 5 on his arm, just assuring her that if Law pulled her hair one more time, he would cut off one of the little bastard's arms.  
"Corazon, what's up?" Doffy asked when he saw the two of you and suddenly you realized what your secret lover was up to.  
"Cora!!!" you whispered to him in a panic. "No, NO! Don't do this!"  
You tried to wriggle out of his grip - but his hand held you close to him. Great, if he now explained to Doffy with his hands and feet that you were a couple, your days would be numbered. You did not even have a will!  
Cora dragged you in front of his brother, who dropped baby 5 and shooed her to the dining room.  
"So, what do you want to tell me?", the older of the two asked, leaning calmly against the railing, his eyes fixed on the two of you.  
Corazon nodded briefly in your direction and Doffy nodded, understanding that it was about you.  
"Did she spoil the soup?" he laughed, but his younger brother shook his head.  
He grabbed you gently by the chin and pressed his lips demonstratively on yours. Frightened, you flinched a little - it was more than just uncomfortable for you to kiss him in front of Doffy. You stiffened up and with bright red ears you released the kiss after a few seconds.  
Silently, Doffy stared at you. Fear crept up your legs to your stomach and for a moment you wondered if you would vomit in fear and terror.  
"Seriously?" The captain now turned to his brother, who only nodded silently and returned his brother's gaze steadfastly.  
Doffy sighed heavily and shrugged his shoulders.  
"If you think so, Cora! After all, she talks enough for both of you!"  
"Hey!", you growled insulted in between, but it took a load off your mind that he seemed to have nothing against your relationship.  
The older one rubbed his neck and strolled away from the railing to the stairs leading below deck. He paused briefly before descending the steps.  
"Be careful." he said to you, "He's a pain in the ass even if he doesn't say a word!"  
You smiled amused and watched the man with the pink feather cloak go below deck. When he was completely out of your sight, you went around to Cora and punched him in the ribs with all your strength. He groaned briefly and held his side, with an indignantly questioning look at you.  
"That's for almost giving me a heart attack!!" you hissed angrily and leaned against the railing as the adrenaline in your body slowly died away. That was a fright!  
Somewhat amused Corazon grinned and pulled you into a tight embrace. Darkly your eyes flashed up to him, but his look was tender and loving.  
He took your hand gently in his and put it on his chest, where the heart was. His gaze spoke volumes now and you sighed lightly, with the hint of a smile. He did not need words to make you understand how he felt about you.  
You leaned your forehead against his chest and could not help but smile.  
"I love you too."


	24. Paulie - Secret Place

"Shh!"  
"You shush, idiot!"  
You and Paulie sat pressed close together between the boxes of the small storage room where you were hiding.  
It was a laughably cramped hiding place, but unfortunately two dozen creditors were looking for you and wanted to collect debts. You had had to flee from the small bar where you both had spent the night together gambling. Only, since you two weren't very good at it, the whole thing took a bad turn very quickly. Now you and Paulie were sitting in this much too tight, sporadic hiding place, pressed close together and both embarrassed and annoyed.  
"That's all your fault!" you hissed in a whisper to the blond craftsman. Angrily, you gave him a push with your elbow, but since you had no room to swing, it was only a half-hearted nudge. He looked at you with a sinister expression and tried to move away a little, but since you were forced to sit between two crates full of trade goods, it was a very pointless undertaking.  
"It's not my fault, for the hundredth time." he growled back and tried listening to your surroundings. Steps could be heard in front of the small warehouse that was located near Dock 3. Voices that were shouting and wild curses came to your ears.  
"Now we are stuck here all night! You did a great job, really!" Actually it wasn't his fault - you had also contributed your share to the failed poker evening. You were up to your ears in debt to the owners of various pubs and smaller casinos - always on guard against the creditors who wanted to collect the money.  
"I told you: I didn't do this on my own.", you got a bad-tempered answer and both of you kept quiet for the time being, each one annoyed and angry about the outcome of the evening.  
You really had fun together, had a few beers and got along so well. Paulie was your work colleague on Dock 1 and often you were at each other's throats during working hours, but when you were out together on weekends, you got along wonderfully. Maybe it was because you both had been in love for ages - but neither of you would admit it.  
"What are we going to do now?" you asked cheekily and moved back and forth on your aching backside. The floor was hard and the way you sat it was more than uncomfortable in the long run.  
"Wait." The answer came back very cool and you realized that you had probably hurt him a bit by all the blaming.  
With a groan you rose a little in the small gap, which was the only one in the hiding place not visible from the outside through the windows.  
"Stretch your legs."  
"What?" The blond man looked at you in bewilderment, but obeyed and leaned with his back against the wall, his legs stretched out so that you could sit down next to him and put your legs over his. Relieved you rubbed your aching knees and sighed slightly.  
"And what will it be when it's finished...?!" Paulie asked with a slight red glow on his face.  
"My legs are starting to hurt a lot" you explained, leaning against one of the wooden boxes. "And I'm getting tired, too."  
"Mmm, me too," the blond muttered and yawned heartily. It had to be 3 o'clock in the morning and still you could hear the creditors creeping around in the streets of Water Seven.  
"They must get tired sometime," you grumbled and rubbed your upper arms shivering. It had become very cool, even though it was summer. A shiver ran down your skin from cold and tiredness. You suppressed a yawn and closed your eyes.  
You looked up when you noticed Paulie moving. Out of the corner of your eye you saw him take off his jacket and move a little further to the box at his side, leaving a little more room and he looked at you in a challenging way.  
A little embarrassed you brushed your hair out of your face and moved close to the blonde man. He pulled the jacket over both of you and you leaned slightly against him. He was unbelievably warm.  
A light sigh escaped you when you noticed that Paulie was also moving closer to you. You looked up at him furtively and saw that he was a little embarrassed.  
"I know it's not your fault," you muttered and put on a gentle smile. "I'm sorry."  
"Well... It's my fault too - our fault." He looked down at you and you held your breath as he put his arm around your shoulder. Your eyes met and for a moment your heart stopped.  
You moved the last inch closer to the blond and your hands lay on his chest. He hardly twitched noticeably under this touch and his breath faltered briefly. With big eyes you looked up at him and your heart was racing so fast that you could have sworn it jumped out of your chest.  
Under your fingertips you could also feel his excited heartbeat. He was as surprised and speechless by this situation as you were. Paulie was no womanizer, he was so shy of the opposite sex. But you both were well aware of how the other felt. Until now there had always been the fear that your friendship could have suffered from this, but in this moment you both didn't care.  
Paulie's hand glided gently over the soft skin on your neck, slowly up to your chin. You closed your eyes under this loving touch and your heart stopped for two beats as you felt warm lips on yours. Paulie pulled you closer to his body and strengthened the grip on your neck. Your hands went up from his chest, over his collarbone to his muscular shoulders.  
For not being a womanizer, the blond knew exactly what he was doing. He kissed you gently, became more and more determined and erratic. The pressure of his hand on your neck became stronger and you knew what was going on in his head.  
He elicited an agitated wheeze from you when he suddenly let go of your lips and started to bite the skin on your neck. The sounds you made drove him on much further and his hand slipped from your neck over your shoulder to your chest.  
As a faint groan escaped you, he paused and sought your gaze.  
"We should stop." His voice was soft, a barely audible plea. You could see in his eyes that he was struggling with himself and his self-control.  
"You're right," you whispered to him and Paulie buried his face in the crook of your neck. You gently stroked his head and had to breathe deeply to calm your heartbeat.  
So the evening had taken a good turn after all.


	25. Gladius - Eyes

You plunged the rest of the contents of your glass down your throat and let your gaze wander over the street festival.  
It was exuberant, cheerful mood on Dressrosa. People were dancing and loud music could be heard from every street corner. Colorful decorations hung from the street lamps and the children had colorful masks on to cover their faces.  
It was a mild, pleasant summer night. You were glad that you wore a v-cut dress up to the hem, otherwise you would probably sweat a lot. Sometimes the climate of Dressrosa was much too warm for you, but other days you were more than happy about the nice weather on this island.  
The screams and laughter of the children reached your ears, but as the evening grew late, the mothers dragged their little ones back into their houses and the streets emptied.  
The last three drinks had done their work in the sultry evening air and you felt free and light. You felt like celebrating, which had been waiting for you all day. With an ever improving mood you made your way through the winding alleys of Dressrosa, your dress waving lightly in the pleasant summer breeze.

You stumbled when two children ran past directly in front of you and lost your balance. As unexpectedly as the two boys had appeared from the small alley, you had to make an abrupt emergency stop and stumbled. You squint your eyes together, ready to make acquaintance with the cobblestones, but a hand lay under your back and saved you from a fall.  
Surprised, you opened your eyes and looked into the masked face of a Donquixote. You knew him by sight and as far as you could remember his name was Gladius.  
"Thank you!" you breathed to him, somewhat surprised at his sudden appearance.  
After a few seconds, you felt a little uncomfortable - was he planning on not letting you go? With big, questioning eyes, you looked up at your rescuer, who was still holding you.  
"Ehm-", you started, but at that moment he pulled you out of the horizontal position. Two steel-gray eyes stared at you, scrutinizing you extensively.  
"Thank you." You repeated yourself and smoothed your dress. Embarrassed, you brushed your hair from your face and gave him a smile. "You're celebrating, too?"  
"You could say so." the young man replied and you looked over to the street corner where a black-haired woman was dancing a wild flamenco. You were a good dancer, extremely good even - every man dreamed of being your partner. You were known throughout the city for your great talent in tango dancing - everyone knew your name.  
Maybe you should invite your savior for a quick dance? After all, almost all the people were already back in their homes, hardly any living toys were left in the city. The small square where you were standing was deserted. Only the small crowd close to the dancer on the corner was still cheering and celebrating.  
You nodded briefly in the direction of the musicians who were about to play a new piece and looked at the Don Quixote questioningly.  
He hesitated for a moment, but then took a step towards you.

The harsh tones of the guitar were heard and before you knew what was happening to you, the young man pulled you with a jerk and placed his hand on your waist, with the free one he grabbed yours. A seductive smile adorned your lips - no man had ever managed to resist you before.  
"Are you sure that you dare to do this?" you whispered to him and you saw the cheeky flash in his eyes. "I dance very passionately, you should know."  
"Good," he replied coolly. "So do I."  
Gladius whirled you around, wrapping his arm around your waist, and he pressed you a little closer.  
"So you want to dance tight." you breathed to him, and even through the mask you could feel his hot breath on your skin.  
"Does it bother you?" it came back teasingly and you laughed for a moment. Never in your life would you have thought that he was that kind of man! Until now you had always imagined him as a serious bore - but what was one of the golden rules on Dressrosa - at street festivals everything is allowed!  
Determined and energetic Gladius led and you followed his lead. Your footsteps became more and more narrow and your skin more and more frequently touched. He danced well, very well indeed. More and more a deep, erotic tension built up between the two of you. Again and again he pulled you close to his upper body and let his hands move over your body.  
Tango was your element. The rhythmic, pure movements quickly created a connection between strangers, a tension. And although you had never met Gladius before, you were an absolutely perfect dancing couple. Every step was perfect, every movement was as if you had practiced it for weeks. Rarely had you danced with someone who suited you so well. The world around you disappeared, only his steel-grey eyes kept you balanced.  
You got more and more out of breath as he picked up the tempo further and further. He pulled you along, spinning you with an impressive lightness and catching you after a pirouette with a natural ease, as if you were light as a feather. You were thoroughly impressed by his skills and gave him an admiring smile.  
How long have you been dancing? You could not say. You stared spellbound into his eyes, which were the color of a light gray. Neither of you wanted to break eye contact, so you stared at each other as if hypnotized, until Gladius grabbed you by the waist and pressed you against the next stone wall.  
A startled sigh came over your lips as he pressed you against the wall with his body and came closer and closer to you.  
"Had enough dancing?" you asked breathlessly and brushed some stray strands from your face. "Are you tired already?"  
With a quick movement he pulled the mask from his mouth and leaned towards you, covering your mouth with his. 


	26. Shanks - Contort

The pain went up your whole arm, up to your chest and cut off your air from your lungs. Your heart pounded wildly and strongly against your ribs and you were afraid that it would just stop beating.  
Your eyes saw only metal and junk around you and suddenly it seemed like a wonderfully stupid idea to fight a battle in a junkyard. You grabbed your arm, but immediately twitched in pain. You wriggled under the pain of your dislocated shoulder and almost screamed. Sweat stood on your forehead and fear rolled over you in steady strokes.  
Where was the captain? Was he doing well? He had to be all right! It was only because of him that you could bear this pain! He was everything you believed in and the only person you had given your loyalty to - if something happened to him, you would never be able to forgive yourself.  
"Captain...", you mumbled to the dirty ground and you wriggled yourself up a little more, into a miserable pile of pain.  
"Hey, sweetheart." you looked up, heard the familiar voice above you. "You're looking a little pale around the nose, you know that?"  
"Shanks!" A relieved smile slipped on your lips, but as you moved an inch, a biting pain ran through your shoulder and you groaned in exhaustion. "Well, I've been better."   
You growled and had to bite your lower lip to keep from making another sound of pain.  
"You'll be all right." the redhead replied confidently and slid his arm under your waist. You held your breath, your muscles trembling with pain, and let your captain pull you up from the ground. You pressed your face into his shoulder and clenched your teeth together until you stood on your own shaky legs.  
"Does it hurt much?" His voice was warm and affectionate.  
"What do you think?" you spat angrily, but you knew that the redhead meant well. The usually so cheerful pirate looked at you worried, his eyes resting entirely on you. You growled bravely, but inside you were still screaming in pain. Who would have thought that a dislocated shoulder hurt so damned much?!  
"Come on, let's go back to the ship."  
Slowly and carefully, he maneuvered you through the junk until you reached the ship. The rest of the crew sat gathered on the deck, the newcomers were busy tending to their wounds, while the older crew members had escaped the battle without a scratch. Normally you escaped any injury, but this time you weren't paying attention - and now you were writhing in pain.  
"Not paying attention, huh?" Ben came up to both of you with a mocking grin on his lips. He mocked you, but you saw a brief, careful flicker in his eyes. He was worried, too.  
"Get the Doc." Shanks instructed his friend and dragged you on, down below deck to the small, spacious infirmary.  
You had to grit your teeth not to whimper as the redhead lowered you onto the small bed and mustered you worried.  
"Doc will be here soon, then you'll be better." your captain assured you and you nodded sheepishly.  
"I'm sorry." you whispered to him, your eyes turned to the ground in shame. You shouldn't have been so careless in battle, you wouldn't be in this situation now. And then you wouldn't have worried Shanks.  
"It's okay." he replied only gently, but you shook your head.  
"I'll be more careful next time, I promise."  
He shook his head and gently stroked your uninjured shoulder.  
"Alas. I'm sorry. I should watch out for my crew members."  
You shook your head, but your heart was relieved a little - he was not angry with you for not paying attention!  
"I will still be more careful. I don't want to worry you, you know." Your eyes looked up at him and you got a little weak in the knees at his gentle look.  
"Now stop being so whiny! The important thing is that we fix you up first!"  
And that's when Doc, the ship's doctor, came in. You were glad to see him, because he knew a lot about his profession. Nevertheless, you had to grit your teeth as he carefully palpated your shoulder.  
"We'll set it right, hon." the doctor growled and looked at Shanks. "You might want to give her a hand - it won't be any fun."  
Shanks nodded and reached for your free hand. You clung to your captain, full of terrible expectation, and closed your eyes.  
"I'll count to three." Doc warned and grabbed your shoulder. »1... 2...«  
You cried out as he pulled strongly once before the number three, turning your joint and the pain finally subsided a little.  
"Doc! You said on the count of three!!" you whimpered angrily, but Doc just shrugged his shoulders and opened the infirmary door.  
"I'm going to get some ice for your shoulder and then I'll get you some morphine."  
Shanks nodded at him and looked at you when you two were alone in the room.  
"Are you okay?", the redhead asked you softly and you made an insecure grimace.  
"It stings a little...", you muttered, as indifferently as possible - you didn't want to look like a weakling in front of him.  
He grinned at you broadly, which was probably meant to cheer you up. Weakly, you replied with a smile and your heart took a little jump. Your captain was your hero, your inspiration - and everything you desired in this world. Of course you would never tell him that, after all he was your captain! And he would never choose someone like you - what did you have to offer?  
"Thanks for the help. I'll manage from now on." You tried to get rid of him before you blushed from his attention to you. You gave him a grateful look and he nodded.  
"All right, I'll check on the others." He turned to leave, but then paused briefly and stroked your head. Nervously your heart fluttered in your chest and you couldn't prevent a little redness on your face.  
"See you later." you said goodbye to him and looked at his flowing cape. What a man!  
Just at that moment Doc came in and caught your eye on Shanks. The ship's doctor rolled his eyes and threw the bag of ice on the bed.  
"By the way, morphine and ice ain't gonna do you much good with a thing like that."


	27. Bastille - Black and Blue

With growing nervousness you watched the preparations, which continued to progress in the large ballroom. Banners were hung up, tables and chairs were taken out of the basement vault and flowers were arranged.  
This time the annual festival of the Navy was in your - rather incompetent - hands and little by little the excitement ate through your stomach. As if you had nothing better to do, in your rank as vice admiral! You had reports to write, soldiers to shoo around and everything else, but not to continue to visit the party preparations.  
"It's going well." Next to you stood Kizaru, hands in his pockets and a wry grin on his face.  
"Don't tease me like that." you growled and crossed your arms in front of your chest. "You know very well that I'm not doing this voluntarily."  
"I'm sure it will be fine - as long as you don't go overboard like Dalmatian did last year."  
You denied yourself a laugh, thought of the crowd of dogs that swarmed between the tables at the last party. It was kinda messy, and Sakazuki was furious, but all in all it was a huge success.  
"Have the other vice-presidents arrived yet?" you asked the admiral next to you, who nodded affirmatively.  
"Just about. Tsuru hasn't arrived yet, but she should drop anchor soon. Ronse and Bastille are mooring right now."  
"Good! Ronse brings more supplies for the kitchens."  
You said goodbye to Borsalino with a quick wave of your hand and hurried out into the courtyard to meet Ronse.  
On your way across the stone square you were greeted politely. All the soldiers passing by wished you good luck for the festival, which only made you more nervous. What if everything went wrong? Contrary to all expectations, marine celebrations were known to get a little out of hand. Especially the high-ranking people became very wild when the evening hours started. Tables, chairs, dishes - hardly anything was safe.  
And they always said that pirates were wild at parties, hah!

"Hello Ronse!", you shouted to your colleague and the vice admiral turned away from his ship and towards you.  
"Ah, I thought you would come and supervise me." he teased you, but you waved your hand while laughing sheepishly.  
"The crates have to be put in the pantry, would you kindly?" you asked Ronse and looked to your right, where the second huge ship docked and Bastille jumped from deck. The giant man looked down at you, and although you were extremely tall, you had to look up at him. The mask that covered his face still irritated you, but he hardly ever took it off. You wondered what he looked like without it.   
But the rest of him irritated you even more - his clothes were bloodstained and dirty.  
"Do you want to come to the party like that?" you asked the redhead and he shrugged his shoulders.  
"Why not?" was his answer. "I just got back from a run from Impel Down, so take it easy."  
In your mind's eye, the festivities were already bursting like a little soap bubble - because if Bastille was already dressed like that, what would the other soldiers do?  
"Wear something different!" You pulled the sleeve of his coat threateningly, but he just snorted.  
"Why should I?" You opened your mouth angrily and grabbed a strand of his hair to pull him half a meter down to you.  
"You will put on a suit! Even Ronse wears one! And Dalmatian, too!", you clamored angrily, in fear for your project. "Dalmatian is part dog and wears a suit, Bastille!!"  
"I don't have a suit!" Bastille grumbled to you and pulled his hair from your tender hands. "I own a white shirt, that's enough!"  
Angered, you grabbed the collar of said white shirt.  
"You are full of dirt, blood and smell as if you had just been two weeks at sea!"  
"I've been at sea for two weeks!" he replied, just as upset. "And now stop pretending that the Celestial Dragons are coming here in person!"  
"You just shouldn't look like a dirty prowler," you growled and pushed him away from you. "So go get yourself some decent clothes."  
"Like hell!" Bastille snorted and turned away from you. You watched him angrily, but caught him trying to brush the dirt off himself.

"Here."  
You pressed clothes into Bastille's arms and turned up your nose. "And you'd better put this on."  
"I won't!"  
You looked up at him angrily, but then you pressed everything into his arms once more and disappeared to the kitchens to urge the staff to hurry.  
Between the cooks, and waiters it was up and down, he was screamed and called, and in all the chaos you stood and felt a little lost. Was everything thought of? Decoration, supplies? Drinks? The food had to be ready on time - Sakazuki couldn't stand delays. And pissing off the fleet admiral was really the last thing you wanted!  
"Well, is everything going as planned?" Kizaru appeared, as so often, out of nowhere next to you. You flinched a bit at his sudden appearance but then just sighed.  
"It's okay. Is Fujitora here yet? And Tsuru?"  
"Arrived an hour ago."  
"Good." Relieved, you hurried off to change your own clothes.

The quarters of the vice admirals were in the western part of the headquarters. As a vice admiral you were allowed to use the private quarters, even if you could only use them outside the seafaring.  
In the corridor you ran into Onigumo and Momonga, who greeted you warmly. Waving cheerfully, you sent them to the large banquet hall and hurried down the hallway to your room. Hurriedly you threw yourself into a dress and looked for your fancy shoes.  
With your coat hanging halfway down from your shoulders, you stumbled out of your room into the hallway, one shoe not yet on your foot and your hair all mixed up. According to your tight schedule, you had to go downstairs, sign up for Sakazuki and finally let go of the panic that had been dominating you since last week.  
"Shit...", you muttered to yourself when the fastener on your back - out of reach for you - refused to obey you. "Come on, come on... Shit!"  
Dancing, you balanced on your unusually high heels and tried desperately to reach the clasp. The admiral's coat slipped completely off your shoulders, but was caught.  
Surprised, you looked up at Bastille, who had saved the white cloth from the dirty floor.  
"Thank you!" it slipped out of your mouth, completely taken by surprise by his appearance.  
"Turn around."  
"Wha-", you started in astonishment, but he turned you over at the shoulder and pulled up the zipper of your dress. Embarrassed, you cleared your throat and gave him a smile over your shoulder.  
"Thank you." you repeated, but then fell silent - he had really put it on. Blue shirt, black suit. The hair still wild and long, but you liked that very much. As grumpy as he was, you liked Bastille very much.  
"Looks good." you muttered and grabbed his tie, which was hanging completely crooked. "I guess you'll just have to practice that, hm?"  
With skillful fingers you pulled it apart and tied it completely new - standing on your tiptoes.  
"You're too tall." you muttered softly, but squealed in shock as he wrapped his arms around you and lifted it a little.  
"Bastille!", you protested immediately, but he shook his head and lifted you a little higher.  
"Come on now, we are already too late." he said and you tied your tie with shaky fingers. Well, you certainly did not expect the evening to be so... full of surprises.   
"Ready." you said softly and patted him on the shoulder. "Let me down."  
He hesitated for a moment and it seemed to you as if he was pressing you a little closer. Your heart made a triple backflip and once again you thought about _how much_ exactly you liked Bastille.   
"Am I interrupting something?"  
Your head whirled around so quickly that it cracked your neck uncomfortably.  
"Kizaru!" you shouted in shock and immediately squirmed under Bastille's firm grip. "It's-it's not what it looks like!"  
"Of course." The admiral whispered and offered you his arm so you could hook yourself. "Sakazuki already asked for you. You know how he detests tardiness."  
"Yeah, okay. Let's go." You gave Bastille another quick glance and smiled sheepishly. "See you later."  
He nodded, stepped forward and put the coat over your shoulders.  
"See you later."


	28. Iceberg - Never look back

Iceberg paced up and down, kept looking at the clock and sighed heavily. You've been observing this for quite a while, all day long to be honest. He was nervous - very nervous.  
"Now calm down, Mr. Iceburg," you finally intervened when you brought two contracts to his office for him to sign. "It won't be too bad, you'll see."  
He moaned annoyed and ran his hand over his face.  
"I don't feel comfortable with this." he finally said. "It's only been two years and I'm really-"  
"Stop it." you interrupted his babbling and turned him toward you by the shoulder. With deft fingers you straightened his tie and gave him a warm look. "You can do it, Mr. Iceberg."  
He sighed briefly, nodded and tugged at his sleeve. Although you were only his secretary, he would probably be lost without you. The fact that the government sent some emissaries made you very nervous, too, considering what happened two years ago. Even Paulie had already cried on your shoulder, asked you several times if his shoes matched the suit and finally let Louie-Louie drag him to the docks.  
Only Iceberg himself was still in his office, strutting up and down in front of the window and mumbling to himself. You felt a little sorry for him, but he could hardly refuse the government.  
"We have to go," you shouted in shock as your gaze caught on the clock on the wall. It was already that late?! "Go, go!" Hurriedly you chased your boss through the office, who only scolded you angrily.  
"You can't push me around like that-!" he interjected, but you didn't listen to him and pushed him through the door and out into the hall.  
  


A few hours later, you opened the door to the office, threw the papers accumulated in your arms onto your small, crammed desk and sighed with exhaustion. What a day! You were glad it was finally over.  
Paulie and Iceberg were both nervous and you almost had to drag them by the ears to this meeting. Of course, relations between Water Seven and the World Government were pretty strained, but that couldn't be a permanent condition in your opinion.  
The conversation about the new trading plans and regulations was long and boring, and as Iceberg's secretary, it was your duty to be at these boring business dinners. With a fake smile you had listened to the negotiators, nodded and wished to be far away. Business dinners were boring, but at least this was the opportunity to spend the evening with your boss.  
For a long, long time you had been in love with Iceberg. Since your first day you had a crush on him and for the last two years you were completely addicted to the boss of the Galley-La Company. He was such a handsome, honest and hard working man - you could only enthuse about him!  
A little dreamy you collected the notes on your desk. You should still be sorting the papers today, you thought, but the red wine from the meal went to your head.  
"Tomorrow." you muttered to yourself and postponed this duty until the coming day.  
The sudden creaking of the door startled you and your papers flew across the desk. Hastily you reached for them, leaned over the wood of the table and only got hold of about half of the papers. Annoyed, you groaned, hurried around the table and began to collect the papers. Your eyes flitted over the edge of the table when you saw an iceberg. Redness shot into your cheeks, partly from the wine and partly from the shame that half of your work of the evening was spread across the floor.  
"Mr. Iceberg," you said, as loosely as possible. "What are you doing here? I thought you'd gone to her apartment long ago!"  
He didn't answer immediately, but came to you behind the desk and helped you pick up the papers.  
"I came to check on you," he finally said, and your heart stopped beating.  
"After me?" you asked and put your work on the table. "What for?"  
"You wanted to bring these papers here, so I wanted to see if everything was all right," he replied. You smiled gently, a little embarrassed about his care.  
"Thank you, everything is wonderful. Just a long evening."  
You didn't really know where to go with you, both of you standing in the dark office, only lit by the street lamps in Water Seven. It was a little uncomfortable between the two of you and yet you did not want this moment to end.  
Iceberg seemed a little nervous in the face of the tension in the room, just like you, and he looked away embarrassed.  
"I'm glad you had dinner with me. I-I mean, with us. Us." He corrected himself quickly and a little too hastily, and you could have sworn he blushed a little. "You know how hard it was for me to work with the government at the time."  
"Anytime again," you said forcefully and took a step towards him. God, that wine really went to your head - you should go. Your brain was literally screaming for you to leave the office right now. Instantly. But your legs would not obey.  
"I'd really like that." Iceberg came one step closer.  
"Mr. Iceberg, I can only tell you... Don't look back. "Never look back. I'm sure it will get easier someday," you advised him and smiled encouragingly.  
"A good one, advice, thank you very much." He came one step closer.  
Your heart was racing, your mouth became a little dry. There were only a few inches between you and your gaze was fixed on his lips.  
Please, you begged silently. Please just do it!  
Iceburg took a nervous breath and you felt his hand on your cheek. With the feeling that your heart could explode with excitement at any moment, you closed your eyes. The few seconds of anticipation made your thoughts race and take every possible turn. Would he just leave? Ask yourself what the hell you were doing? Would he let you go? Or even laugh?  
But when you felt iceberg bending down to you and kissing you gently, your concerns went up in smoke. Warm, soft lips softened your knees - oh, he was a damn good kisser!  
One hand at your waist, the other on your cheek, he pushed you back to the desk and became more specific. His tongue rolled over your lips, teasing you and inviting you to deepen the kiss. Greedily you gave in, letting one hand go into his hair and one to his neck. He tasted of wine and the obligatory cigar of the business dinner, but that didn't bother you at that moment. The main thing was that he knew what he was doing! And when his hand moved further down from your waist to your hip and pressed you slightly against the desk, he even made you sigh with relish.  
You separated from him, an excited sparkle in your eyes. He looked at you with the same enthusiastic amazement as if he could hardly believe that he had just done that.  
"I'm sorry-" he immediately started and wanted to let you go, but quickly your grip on his neck grew stronger and you shook your head.  
"No, I've wanted this for a long time," you confessed embarrassed. Relieved he took a deep breath and pressed another kiss on your lips.  
"Good, because I want to kiss you too."


	29. Marco - Dying for you

It was pure chaos on the battlefield. The fronts crashed into each other, accompanied by battle cries and the metallic sound of many weapons colliding.  
You tried to spot Marco, looked around on all sides, but he was nowhere to be found. To be ambushed in such an obvious ambush was stupid and once again it was the hot-headed Ace who had started it all. You weren't angry with him - well, not too much at least. You were well aware of the rash behavior and this time it was the wild young firebug who had sprinted off first and thrown himself into the crowd of enemy pirates.  
Shortly after, pure chaos had broken out, Whitebeard's pirates defended their territory with everything they had. Vista was on your right, taking on a whole handful of enemies, while Jozu on your left tried to throw three men off his back, aggressively clinging to him. Your senses were sharpened, almost overwhelmed by the noise and hectic movements of your nakama.  
You dodged a sudden attack - an enemy pirate tried to hit you with his mace. With practice you stepped aside, took some momentum and gave him a kick in the face. Moaning, the man collapsed, held his broken, bleeding nose and you continued to look for your vice. Marco was usually always up front, ruling the battlefield and teaching your opponents to fear him. But this time the glow of blue flames was missing and you couldn't make out a bird in the sky either.  
"Jozu!" you shouted over the noise and the giant turned to you. "Where's Marco?" Your nakama shrugged, grabbed an attacker in front of him and threw him several meters back into the crowd. Annoyed, you rolled your eyes, this really wasn't much help. You'd think the giant commander would see more than you in this crowd, but guess not, hm?  
A sudden shot nearby made you flinch and immediately you looked northwards, looking for the source of the sound. You only saw wild fights, blood splashing until finally - you put your hands in front of your mouth.  
Breathlessly, you saw Marco being grabbed by the captain of the enemy crew and thrown several meters away from him. A small scream escaped you when the blond man lay motionless on the ground. Blood mixed with the dirt on the floor and as if by magic your legs started to run. With a pounding heart you tried to reach the vice as fast as possible and almost tripped over your own feet.  
"Marco!", you begged in a fragile voice when you arrived at his motionless body and immediately fell to your knees. A hole gaped in his chest - why didn't he heal? Your eyes continued to search his body and discovered a chain wrapped around his wrist. They had put sea stones on him!  
Immediately, with shaky fingers, you started to work on the chain and loosen it. Your hands just wouldn't obey you and tears came to your eyes. Faster, you pushed yourself inwardly. Faster, damn it!  
Finally the heavy chain came off and you threw it as far away as you could. Immediately you put your head on his chest - was he breathing more evenly now, or was it just your imagination?  
"Hey, Marco. Wake up, please." you muttered, more to yourself than to him. A faint moaning came from the blond and relieved you breathed out - at least he moved.  
A sudden clang behind you made you jump around and you saw a huge, spiteful laughing pirate behind you. Rubbing his two sabers together, he came closer, closer and closer and seemed to crave to kill Marco. The blond one didn't move anymore, he lay motionless on the floor and still no blue, healing flames.  
Your heart began to race and your thoughts turned over. With the best will in the world, nothing came to your mind. How could you avoid this bloodthirsty pirate without leaving Marco defenseless?  
So you did the only thing that seemed to make sense to you: You threw yourself over the vice's chest, ready to do anything to keep him alive.  
"Don't you dare touch him." Your gaze was full of anger and determination and with your last bit of courage you protected the wounded vice with your own body. The man in front of you seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then he drew far and swung his saber. You closed your eyes, ready to make acquaintance with the sharp blade. You did not want to die, but if your death would save Marco, it was okay. He would live, that was the most important thing for you!  
But the expected blow did not come. Instead, you felt warm blue flames on your skin and opened your eyes again. Marco had wrapped his arms around you and pushed the attacker back with the help of his flames. Immediately, Izou took over the surprised opponent and you were able to turn to the blond one.  
His body trembled, although he was surrounded by the healing flames. His powers were strong, but even he needed some time to heal such a severe wound.  
"Marco!", it escaped you relieved and you squeezed yourself a little closer into his embrace. "You're okay!"  
"I've been better...", he groaned and held the wound in his chest, which slowly began to heal under the blue flames. His hand went up to your neck and he looked at you with a serious and angry look. "Never do that again!"  
You knew exactly what he meant, but you shook your head violently.  
"I would die for you. Anytime."  
He stared at you for a second, then sighed and sat up with your help. Slowly, almost creepingly, his wound healed and his breathing became a little calmer.  
"Give me a hand, would ya-" he asked you and you pulled him up from the floor, put his arm around your shoulder to support him. His muscles trembled under the strain and a deep concern took hold of you. Although his wounds were already healing, the aftermath of the stone still held back his strength.  
"Marco, we should fall back a little." you asked him urgently. "Just until you have recovered a little."  
But he shook his head and gave you a determined look.  
"I'll be fine." he replied. "Don't look at me like that."  
With big, worried eyes you looked at him, still a little tear on your cheek. He seemed to understand how afraid you were for him and bent down to you.  
It was a short, fleeting kiss on the lips - but it was enough to double your heartbeat.  
"I'll take care of it this time." he promised you and you nodded speechlessly, still completely surprised by the kiss. Warm, gentle flames enveloped him and you watched him rise into the air as a phoenix. With your mouth slightly open, you ran your fingertips over your lips, incredulous and happy about what had just happened.


	30. Sanji - Teamwork

"Hey, Sanji."  
The blond man looked at the galley door, through whose slightly opened crack you stuck your head. His face lit up when he saw you.  
"What's up?"  
"I picked the oranges you asked for." Demonstratively you held up an armful of orange fruit and he nodded at you gratefully. Carefully you put them down on the countertop of the small kitchen and looked over his shoulder. Now it was your expression that brightened. "Oh, that looks so good already!!"  
"A compliment from such a beautiful woman, what more do I want." he replied immediately and gave you a sly look. Giggling, you shook your head, but were secretly pleased with his remark. He had been flattering you ever since you were part of the strawhat gang, as he had flattered just about every beautiful woman he met. In the beginning you didn't like it and were rather annoyed by it, but in the meantime you had gotten used to it.  
"Need a hand?" Curiously, your gaze wandered over the many pots and pans - was that a cake in the oven? You could hardly wait to eat the wonderfully smelling pastry!  
The blond one looked at you confused for a moment - rarely you asked if he needed any help, rather you were satisfied with fooling around with Chopper, Usopp and Luffy until dinner time.  
"If you really want to - you can peel the oranges." Still a little irritated, he began to stir in a wonderfully fragrant sauce while you freed the fruit from its peel.  
You had decided to spend more time with Sanji, for he had really grown on you. In between the idiotic flattery, he was an attentive, loyal man and so handsome! Only the flirting-thing pissed you off. Maybe he would get rid of it one day - although your hopes in this respect were not very high.  
Carefully you plucked the last remains of the peel from the oranges, anxious to make everything perfect. Between you and Sanji there was a pleasant silence, only disturbed by the hissing of the pan and the constant noise of the blade of the knife touching the cutting board. Although you were always there when the other guys in the team were fooling around, this calm was a welcome change.  
"Is it all right like that?" you asked the blond man, and he nodded with a broad smile.  
"Perfect."  
  


The dinner was very chaotic as usual. Luffy was only eating meat, Nami pressured him into eating some vegetables and Franky asked for more cola. You were used to it by now and loved this team with all its peculiarities and oddities.  
"Say, how come you were helping in the kitchen all afternoon?" Luffy asked you between two huge bites. "Usopp cheated at cards! That was unfair!"  
"I just wanted to help Sanji, that's all." you mumbled, a little embarrassed. It was really very unusual for you to spend your free time with kitchen work. Luffy's question was without any ulterior motives, but Nami and Robin looked at you with amusement.  
"That's so very nice of you, isn't it?" Robin said and her voice dripped with laughter. "Really, it's nice of you to take care of our ship's cook."  
She seldom made such gloating comments, but when she did, she did so with full commitment.  
Sanji seemed to ignore all this or he simply did not listen. Embarrassed goose bumps crept from your back up to the back of your neck and you wished longingly that the meal was over soon.  
  


"I'll help you." you offered when the rest of the crew had hurried out of the kitchen to avoid doing the dishes. Normally, you would have been the first to escape - but you had planned to spend some time with Sanji after all.  
"I can't believe it, you're helping with the dishes voluntarily." he teased you and you gently pushed him to the side with your elbow, but you couldn't help but giggle. Was he seriously flirting with you?  
"With good teamwork it'll be done faster." you said precociously and he laughed.  
"I guess you're right."  
Little by little you stacked the plates next to the sink, carried the cutlery from the table over and hoped fervently that you would be allowed to take over the drying role. Sanji rolled up his sleeves and pressed a kitchen towel into your arms.  
"Well, are you backing out?" he asked with a wry grin, but you shook your head and kept your word. Bravely you dried plate after plate, and again a nice, relaxing rest lay between you while you were busy.  
"Attention!" You saw how Sanji slipped one of the plates through your fingers when he wanted to hand it to you. You reached for the dishes at the same time as he did. It was almost unavoidable, as you both bent down, that with a dull sound your heads collided.  
"Ouch-" you hissed and held your forehead. "Sorry."  
"Sorry!" Sanji also held his head, and when you opened your eyes your faces were only inches apart. Oh man, you didn't want to get that close to him right away - you were going to take it slow.  
He looked at you out of the blue eyes, a little surprised, seemed to become aware of the situation. He swallowed, but didn't dare to react in any way. Did he want to wait and see what you would do next?  
The butterflies in your stomach flew loops and the skin on your neck was tingling with anticipation.  
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.  
You leaned forward for a brief second and your lips brushed his softly. Could you already call that a kiss? A fleeting, shy kiss?  
You quickly straightened up and your ears turned red from embarrassment.  
"I'm so sorry!!" you squealed immediately and pressed the towel against your body. "I shouldn't have-!!"  
"No, it's okay." Sanji seemed surprised but not disinclined by you. Bravely, you moved a little closer to him, already drying the next plate. Sanji also leaned a little bit towards you until finally your shoulders touched and you couldn't help smiling with a satisfied smile.


	31. Ace - Broken Pieces

It was a beautiful, sunny day on Moby Dick. Marco chased you from A to B, pushing you to load the new supplies faster. You hated hauling the crates, but as a member of the Whitebeard Pirates you had to do your part. And if that meant that you still had sore muscles a week after the last shore leave, then it was simply that.  
Slowly like a snail you dragged a heavy barrel along the jetty while many of your nakama passed by amused, each loaded with several boxes, bags and barrels.  
"Do you need help?" Jozu asked you, but you shook your head in denial.  
"I can do it-!" you insisted on your pitiful attempt to make yourself useful.  
Jozu shook his head, but continued on with seven crates stacked on just one shoulder. A little discouraged, you continued to tug at the barrel - what was in there, bricks?! - and decided to take a little break. Your hands ached and the trembling in your muscles was a clear indication of a very bad muscle ache to come.  
"You are too slow!" Ace appeared behind you, grinning and loaded with two more barrels. "You're really not much of a help."  
"Mean!" you protested immediately, but realized that he was probably right. Sure, you could fight and many of the men drank under the table - but carrying was probably your weak point.  
"Come on, all those crates of drinks have to be carried on board. I want to be finished before it's dark, jeez." Marco instructed you, who ran past you again, heavily loaded and apparently a bit annoyed that you were way behind schedule.  
"Aye!", you replied and lifted the barrel with a tremendous effort.  
  


"Hey." Some time later, Ace appeared behind you out of nowhere, which made you curse in shock, and the heavy crate of bottles slipped from your grip and landed on the ground. A loud clang made you flinch, because now the bottles you had been carrying laboriously were all lying on the floor as broken pieces, surrounded by a big brine of wine.  
"Oh no!", you moaned, half annoyed and half ashamed, because such an accident had happened to you. "I'm sorry!"  
"Why are you sorry?", Ace immediately followed up as he bent down to help you pick up the largest pieces of glass. "These things happen. It's no big deal."  
"I just- dropped them..." you just mumbled, trying not to cut yourself on the glass. Carefully you picked up piece by piece of your task and threw them back into the box. Your hands began to get sticky from the wine, but you probably deserved that. Also the painful lump in your throat, the trembling lower lip and the fear of getting into trouble. Why were you so clumsy and dropped the crate?   
"It's not so bad, you know." The black-haired man assured you again and you felt his gaze lying on you. Oh, please look away!, you begged internally. As if all of this wasn't embarrassing enough already!  
"You know very well that you shouldn't drop anything!" Marco appeared behind the two of you, checking the last items on his list: "If you cut half of the supplies into small pieces of trash, next time you can pay for them with your own money!"   
Tears were burning in your eyes and you didn't dare to look up from the floor. You just nodded silently, but Ace first looked at you and then put a guilty expression on his face when he turned to Marco.  
"Sorry!", he said. "My fault. I told her I would take the bottles from her. I guess I didn't hold them right in my hand, heh."  
Disgruntled, the first commander snorted and crossed an item on his list with an energetic gesture of his hand.  
"Next time you better watch out!" he snarled at the black-haired man. "I know it wasn't intentional - but we're not buying the supplies for fun. It's expensive."  
"Sorry." Ace repeated and rubbed his neck in embarrassment. "It won't happen again, I promise!"  
Marco sighed annoyed and then shook his head.  
"Clean this up and then come aboard. I want to be on the open sea again as soon as possible." he told you and disappeared on the Moby Dick. You bent over the edge of the jetty, held your sticky hands in the water and Ace did the same. For the moment it was quiet between the two of you and your guilty conscience lay heavy on your shoulders.  
"You lied for me..." you muttered to your nakama and he just grinned cheekily at you.  
"Well, I hardly lied that much. After all, it was my fault that you got scared. Sorry about that, really." he replied. You nodded and even if you had been able to hold back the tears in front of Marco, now two of them rolled down your cheeks and became dark little spots on your top.  
"Hey, hey - what's going on?" the black-haired man asked confusedly. "Did I say something wrong?"  
"No, that's nonsense." you replied and wiped your eyes with the back of your hand. "Ace, you didn't do anything wrong, really."  
"But you're crying! What am I supposed to think, huh?" He seemed honestly irritated in the face of your violent reaction to such a trifle. Of course you couldn't blame him, you didn't know why you were so carried away by the situation.  
"I-I'm just not used to people being so nice to me. Or that someone lies to save me from trouble." you said weakly, but you could hardly bring a smile to your lips.  
"Who is not nice to you?! Is it Teach? I'll teach him a lesson!" Immediately, Ace looked around for Teach, ready to smack him one. This elicited an amused gurgle under all the tears and you shook your head.  
"No, no! No, I didn't mean it like that-" you protested. "Before I joined the Whitebeard Pirates... Let's just say I had a lot of bad luck in life. And you're the first family I've ever had."  
The black-haired man looked at you for a moment and frowned.  
"That's really sad." he said, grabbed you by the shoulders and looked at you with a determined look. "It won't happen to you here, I promise!"  
A faint sigh you couldn't help but sigh, knowing that he meant it with all his heart. You turned out of his grip, took a step towards him and wrapped your arms around his upper body. Immediately he returned the hug firmly, one hand on your back and one in your hair. You had the silent suspicion that he was not embracing the other nakama in this way. Your suspicion was promptly confirmed when he gave you an almost loving kiss on the forehead.  
"We really like you, all of us." he said and in his tone of voice, he meant himself above all.  
"I really like you too." you replied and pressed yourself a little closer to him.


	32. Shachi - Poison

"Over and over again, really over and over again," you rant wildly as Penguin put his friend Shachi on the treatment table. You rolled up your sleeves and looked at your nakama, who lay unconscious on the metal table.  
Actually Law was the doctor on this ship, but when he was too busy you had to go and patch up your comrades. Admittedly, your skills didn't match his medical knowledge, but it was enough to save the idiots from death. You would think that the Heart Pirates - all capable fighters, machinists and doctors - would not hurt themselves too often, but the exact opposite was true. All the time you had one of them in your fingers, they were little aches and pains or sometimes bigger wounds. And especially often it was Shachi and Penguin who liked to overestimate themselves.  
"What did you do," you asked Penguin when you felt the pulse of your patient Shachi and pulled his face. His pulse was there, but weaker than you would have liked.  
"A snake bit him when we were exploring," Penguin reported and looked at you in a worn out state. "I think it was a viper!"  
You looked at him annoyed.  
"You don't have the slightest idea what a viper looks like, you idiot," you hummed and pushed Shachi's sleeve up. Indeed, four bleeding holes were visible - the fangs of a snake.  
"Make sure you get me that snake," you hissed to Penguin, who nodded and immediately ran out of the operating room.  
"What are you idiots doing," you whispered to the unconscious Shachi and pulled the big cap off his head. You pushed the brown hair from his face and carefully examined his pupils. They reacted well and otherwise Shachi seemed to be in a pretty good condition - apart from the bite and unconsciousness. Would he really need treatment or maybe just some time?  
"Hey, wake up." You shook his shoulder roughly, but he didn't react to it. Although his pulse was not as strong as you would have wished, you knew that his life was not yet in danger. However, if his condition continued to worsen, you had to consult the captain.  
His breathing was a bit irregular and you decided to watch him until Penguin came back. Of course you were worried about your comrade, because even if they were idiots: Shachi and Penguin were dear to your heart. Together with Bepo they had been the first members of the gang and very soon after you followed. At first, you had always fought with them, especially with Shachi. More than once it had gotten into fisticuffs and Law had had to intervene. But last year, the tables had turned and Shachi had shown you very clear advantages. At first you were a little suspicious, but could he really keep up a bad joke the whole time?  
"Hey, Shachi - are those Amazons? Naked Amazons?"; you murmur to him, but there was no reaction to that either. Well, it was worth a try. Usually the Heart Pirates' guys were always at the forefront when it came to pretty women. That was the first reason why you didn't buy his sentimentalism. The fact that the Amazon Lily amazons almost took his eyes out of his head is something you still don't quite forgive him for. He could still try so hard to enchant you, not with you!  
"We didn't find the snake!" Penguin, Bepo and Clione rushed in with a loud rumble, pure fear written all over their faces. "We looked everywhere!"  
"You were only gone for a few minutes," you muttered with crossed arms. Idiots! "All right then, we will have to wait and see. The captain will be back in a few hours, then we'll see what he has to say."  
A faint whimpering came from the three of them, who looked guilty and didn't dare to come closer to the unconscious Shachi.  
"What were you doing out there anyway," you asked, while your hand went back to Shachi's arm to check his pulse. "I thought Law had forbidden reconnaissance tours."  
Caught, Bepo and Clione looked at Penguin, who was just jumping from one leg to the other.  
"Th-This is secret," he finally brought out.  
Skeptically, you raised an eyebrow.  
"Secret?", you repeated slowly. "Then your 'mission' must have been very important."  
Your cool gaze alone was enough to make two-thirds of the gang flee and only Penguin stopped at the door, visibly uncomfortable in his skin. With an annoyed groan, you went to one of the medicine cabinets and took out a syringe. It was the biggest one you could find at first sight, and demonstratively you held it up.  
"If you don't tell me, I can't help Shachi," you said, playing sober. "And then all I can do is take a blood sample and run tests. I'll need a lot of blood since I have so many things to test for..."  
Penguin started to sweat after the injection - you knew he had problems with needles, of course.  
"I promised not to tell," he said and continued to look worriedly at the huge instrument in your hand.  
"Too bad," you replied and placed the syringe at the crook of Shachi's arm. Of course you wouldn't draw a liter of blood from the poor man, but the threat was enough.  
"Shachi wanted to pick you flowers," it broke out of Penguin and he pulled his cap a little deeper into his face. "On this island grow the flowers you like so much and he wanted to get you some and then there was this snake in the bushes and bit him!  
He rattled off this explanation at such a speed that it took your brain a second to process the words into information.  
"Flowers?", you latched on confusedly and Penguin nodded impatiently.  
"Yes, yes!" he said emphatically. "Because you always turn him down."  
"Oh, dear." You put the syringe aside, walked around the treatment table and gave Penguin a gentle slap on the shoulder. "Why didn't you say so? Now go and find Bepo, you know how he gets when there's so much going on."  
He nodded, pulled his cap a little bit deeper into his face and after a last worried look at Shachi, Penguin went off to look for the bear. You sighed heavily as he disappeared around the corner of the hallway and went back to your patient.  
Flowers then? And he even knew which ones you liked best. Maybe you should just give him a chance, after all Shachi seemed to really care about you. Even if the fear of a bad prank was stirring in you - what did you really have to lose? Besides, no matter how much you denied it, you liked him, too. The clumsy idiot had a good heart and was a loyal and reliable young man.  
You leaned down a little and kissed him on the forehead. Out of concern, gratitude for the effort he had made and because you were simply flattered.  
Flowers. Who would have thought it?  
"Am I dead?" Startled, you flinched briefly, but were very relieved that he had regained consciousness.  
"No, you're not dead," you assured him and felt his pulse on your neck. Already a little stronger than a few minutes ago. So everything was half as wild and the Heart Pirates had once again made a big fuss about nothing.  
"You kissed me."  
With warm cheeks you turned away and looked for the set for an infusion from the medicine cabinet. Some liquid would do him good right now.  
"I did not." Damn, your voice was a little higher than wanted! How embarrassing...  
"You did."  
"I-I just wanted to see if you had a fever," you talked your way out of it, but you gave your patient a sly sideways glance. "Sleeves up, Sleeping Beauty."


	33. Smoker - Hellbent

"Hey."  
Smoker flinched briefly, turned to look at your wide grin behind him and continued writing his report.  
"What do you want?" he growled, now in an even worse mood than before. He hated it when you did that. Giving him a scare was one of your favorite things, to his chagrin.  
"Pff, I just wanted to say hello." you replied, glancing curiously at the vice admiral's papers. It was a report about the capture of some rebels a few days ago. Unfortunately you missed this mission, you were delayed on your last mission. But you had heard about it from your colleagues on the base. Smoker had arrested more than a dozen men all by himself - he really was a very good vice admiral.  
"Hello. Now get lost." he hissed, but you didn't think about it. Slowly, thoughtfully, you walked around his desk, pulled out some sheets from the stack and began to read. You felt his annoyed glare on you, but you didn't let it bother you. He knew exactly that you wanted something.  
"You know, I thought maybe the two of us could have a drink together tonight." you suggested, as casually as possible.  
"No."  
Hmm. You made a face, not satisfied with that answer. Of course you knew he wasn't the social type. But somehow you had to get the grant for your new equipment out of him!  
"Oh, don't be like that." you kept working on him. "Just one drink, it'll take your mind off your paperwork."  
You plucked even more slips of paper from the pile on his desk, which of course upset his entire organization.  
"Hands off." he snorted, reached for his work and blew some acidified cigar smoke in your face to scare you away. You waved your hand in front of your face - it stank terribly! "When you finally stop bugging me - one drink!"  
"Excellent!" Immediately you put the notes back on the pile and turned to leave. "9 o'clock at the Red Pub, byeee-!"  
"Get lost!" growled Smoker, dangerously quiet, and you watched yourself disappear from his office. The vice seemed to be seriously annoyed by you and before he threw you out by himself - not a pleasant thing to do, you had already gotten to know that - you set out to work out your plan. You really needed this new equipment!

The bar was dark, dirty and full to the brim with drunken sailors. Marines, to put it more precisely. The little place where your base was located was not a nice piece of land and this filthy pub reflected that all too well. Actually, it was the perfect place to have a drink with the vice, after all, he was often in a bad mood. Even though you knew it was part of his nature. Such a dirty little pub was certainly exactly his style.  
The door opened and a cold draft penetrated the room. Your gaze wandered to the entrance and immediately you saw your date. You waved happily and when Smoker saw you, he turned his eyes at your exuberant greeting.  
You jumped up, greeted him - but he just snorted and sat down at the table where you had been waiting for him. You yourself hurried to the bar and waved at the bartender.  
"Two Black Russians." you ordered, whereupon the bartender nodded and slammed the high-proof drinks in your face. Another sourpuss, great. Were all men in such a bad mood lately?  
"We're going to sit here, keep quiet and drink." growled Smoker to you. No sooner had you sat down and put the drink down than he immediately started making up the rules. That's how you knew Smoker - grumpy, short-tempered and not in a joking mood. You wanted to loosen him up a bit with a nice evening, some alcohol and who knew what it would look like...  
"Oh please, don't be like that.", you replied to his silly regulation. "Why don't you relax, we'll sit here and have a nice little chat-"  
"I know exactly what you want." he cut you off. "And you can forget about the money for your new equipment."  
In a daze you fell silent. Damn, he knew! Maybe you should have been a little more subtle...  
"But I need the new weapons!" you protested and sipped your drink - wow, pretty strong.  
"No. And that you try such a cheap trick to squeeze them out of me!" Smoker pushed up his sunglasses to give you a stern look. "How dumb do you think I am?"  
"It was worth a shot." you sighed in disappointment and fished the cherry out of your glass. The sweetness softened the pungent taste of alcohol in your mouth. With a mischievous smile, you watched Smoker empty his glass in one go and grabbed the small piece of fruit lying at the bottom of the empty glass.  
If you didn't get the grant for your new toy, you wanted compensation. How far would the vice admiral go with you? Would he succumb to your charm or would he reject you? It was no secret between you that you would like to spend a night with him. A little fun, a little stress relief - what was wrong with that? He knew what you wanted, even though you had never talked to him directly about it until now. But even a blind man could see that you were very fond of him.  
"And yet you came tonight..." you said, so quietly that he could barely hear you over the sound of the other guests.  
"And yet I came." Oh, you liked his tone of voice. Was he really flirting with you? The big, famous Smoker, vice admiral of the navy? You lucky, lucky person...  
"I am honored." You put the cherry in your mouth - it was time for a more than obvious message to him. You had practiced for so long, and finally you could do it: You formed the stem of the cherry into a small knot in your mouth, pushed it between your lips with your tongue and then put it back into the empty glass of your counterpart. You were wildly determined to seduce him. Where you got this self-confidence from was not quite clear to you, even if it was probably the way too strong drink. You wanted to have Smoker in your bed, even at the risk of him rejecting your determined attempt and embarrassing you.  
Smoker swallowed, stared at the stem of the cherry and you were curious to see how he would react next.  
"Two more!" he shouted to the bartender and you couldn't help but smile. So he was definitely interested!  
As inconspicuously as possible, you moved a little closer to Smoker, looking for his gaze.  
"Maybe we should pay for the drinks." you said. He swallowed again, but he didn't seem nervous, more like... expectant?  
You reached into your pocket, dug out some money to pay, but he gave you a short hand signal so you paused in your movement.  
"They're on me."


	34. Doflamingo - Caged

Bored, you browsed through the magazine, a little envious of the beautiful women in the beautiful dresses. Of course you had beautiful dresses and you were handsome, but they all had one decisive advantage in their lives: they did not live in the large estate near the palace on Dressrosa.  
Sure, life in a rush had a lot to offer. You never suffered from hunger, your clothes were always the latest trend in the fashion industry and whatever you wished for - you got what you wanted. A dream for every woman, but an absolute nightmare for you. Because as beautiful and luxurious as the Donquixote family lived - it was a tightrope walk.  
Security and luxury had to be rewarded with loyalty and brutality. Whoever did not obey Doflamingo unconditionally would not live long enough until the next meal was served. You had gotten used to this harsh reality, sitting by the pool every day and sometimes even right in the arms of the Joker himself. He often claimed that he liked all beautiful pool bunnies equally, but you couldn't really buy it. You knew that you were a mistress. A bed bunny.  
Expendable.  
And yet, despite all this, you hoped for a change in his behavior every day, and you have been hoping for it for years. It was more than unlikely that Joker of all people would fall in love with you. Could he even do that? He was psychopathic through and through, you had been able tell that after just a few minutes after you met him first time. But the dangerous thing about psychopaths was their ability to be charming. And oh yes, could the blond man lull you! How many times had you tried to escape him, to get away from him, but the handsome pirate and samurai of the seas made you stay with the smallest and most insignificant gestures. And if they were only small gifts, despite all the trouble you remained trapped in this golden cage.

Speaking of the devil, Doflamingo let himself fall down next to you on the sofa that stood by the pool. The purpose of a sofa in that place was not quite clear to you yet, but he seemed to like it extravagant. The pink feather cloak, which slightly tickled your skin, also suggested this. He placed his arm over your shoulder and you leaned slightly against him.  
"Well, how's my prettiest?" he asked you and you couldn't hide a little smile. You liked it when he called you that.  
"I admire this dress. I'm just afraid it wouldn't look quite as beautiful on me as it does on her." you sighed about a sinfully expensive one-off from your magazine. "And the price, for a scrap of cloth."  
"If you want it, I'll buy it for you." the blonde man offered, but you just waved it away.  
"I have enough nice dresses to wear. Besides, I'm wearing mostly bikinis anyway."  
"Lucky me." He bent down a little - he was almost two heads taller than you - and watched you flip through the pages. He wanted something, otherwise he wouldn't have watched this fashion magazine with you.  
"Is there anything I can help you with?" you asked after a few quiet minutes and he shrugged his shoulders.  
"I'm bored." he confessed.  
"So that's why you bother me then?" you gave back cheekily and gave him a mischievous smile. He snorted in amusement, took the magazine out of your hands, flipped through the pages to the men's fashion and pointed to a green suit.  
"What do you think, would this suit me?"  
You laughed and shook your head.  
"No, green is really not your color! Pink, on the other hand..." you replied, enjoying your togetherness to the fullest. Nobody else was at the pool, it was almost time for dinner. But you still didn't quite realize what Doflamingo really wanted from you.  
"That's why I like you best. You're a honest one." He winked at you from behind the sunglasses. He rarely fooled around with you, even when no one else was around. You liked this side of him, it gave him a little humanity.  
"Maybe you look good in pink, but it looks so much better on me." You took the feather coat off his shoulders and threw it over your shoulders. You stood up and took one of the poses from the fashion magazine.  
"It hurts me very much, but I must confess that it looks better on you than on me." said the blond and smiled at your nonsense. You laughed, let him take your hand and pull you onto his lap. He kissed you, pulled you even closer to him. So that's what he was after.  
"Later." you muttered to his lips. "I want to take a shower first."  
He growled impatiently, but let you go.  
"I have a better idea." His voice was deep and infatuated you instantly. And yet, he would have to wait until evening. But with a quick movement of his hand he had pulled the pink feathers from your shoulders, grabbed your shoulders and the back of your knees and stood up.  
"No, no, don't you dare!!" you rebelled immediately, knowing exactly what he was about to do. He just grinned, took a step forward and threw you headfirst into the pool. A shrill scream escaped you, but already you dived into the cool water and disappeared in it. Snorting, you appeared at the surface and threw him an angry look.  
"See, problem solved." It came gloatingly from him. You spat out some water - revenge! It was stupid to mess with his unpredictable temperament, but you wanted to have some fun at last!  
You swam to the edge of the pool and grabbed the collar of Joker's shirt. His misfortune when he sat crouched on the edge and watched your free flight, right? If he was already loitering so close to the edge, he had to live with the consequences.  
"You wouldn't dare." he said, and you could hear a subtle warning in his voice.  
"You sure about that?", you whispered and braced yourself against the edge of the pool with all your might to pull him in towards you. He was either surprised that you really dared to pull him into the water or he just let it happen. With a loud splash he landed next to you in the water and you grabbed one of the swim rings from the edge. Of course he couldn't swim because of his devil fruit powers, so you had to help him out with an inflated duck swimming ring. You dived under water, pressed the ring into his hand and pulled him to the surface.  
You felt his seriously angry look on you as you swam a little closer to him and amusedly looked at the head of the inflated duck. It was very refreshing to see the blond in a predicament and you knew that there would be repercussions. But for the moment you enjoyed the watered flamingo, kissed him on the forehead and smiled.  
"No more gifts for you." he growled angrily and paddled to the edge of the pool. He pulled himself out of the water with difficulty and again it was fascinating to see how sensitive the users of the devil fruits reacted to water. He seemed tired, completely exhausted, until he finally climbed out of the water. When you saw his wet, slightly transparent clothes and how they stuck to his muscles, you got a little warmer.  
"I'll make it up to you." you said in a sweet voice. "Even if you have to wait until tonight."  
He held out a hand to you and you let him help you out of the pool. He still seemed a little upset, but a little soothed in the face of your promise.  
"All right, I'll wait." His charisma became a little more threatening as he leaned slightly towards you. "But don't make me wait too long."  
"Of course not." you murmured.  
"We understand each other, good." With a light push he threw you back into the pool - what else did you expect?  
But when you looked at it closely, your golden cage wasn't even that bad. Doflamingo offered you shelter, security and a great love life on top of that. What could be better than this?


	35. Bastille - Breath again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> we're finally at the new stuff from 2018-2020 :D

"Come on! A little faster, if you please!" you shooed the medics through the smashed Marineford. Everywhere doctors rushed through the area, followed by the soldiers who could still stand on their own two legs. Injured were recovered, the dead covered with cloths and the adrenaline of the fight slowly lost its effect. A dull feeling settled in you, deep in your chest. It was a mixture of exhaustion, the pain of your own injuries and the horror of what had happened. You didn't want to know how many of your colleagues and friends you had lost to the pirates that day. Too many had died and too many would still succumb to their severe injuries.  
"Miss vice admiral, what about you?" you were asked by a young medic. "You're injured, too!"  
"It's not that bad." you turned him away. "There are enough other casualties, please take care of them first."  
He nodded, asking you to say something immediately anyway, in case you got worse. Again you turned him away, sent him to the seriously injured and looked around.  
"Mozambia!" You ran to your colleague who was organizing the rescue of some of the injured soldiers from the shattered ice. When he heard his name, he turned around and his face brightened a little towards you.  
"I'm glad you're okay," he said and you nodded.  
"Likewise. Can you please keep an eye on the injured?" you asked him and wrung your hands nervously. "I need- I need to check on someone."  
He sighed heavily and you sensed that this war would leave its traces on everybody, even him.  
"Of course. I will take care of this."  
"Thank you!" you shouted and ran over to the western part of the Marineford, where the Red Force had docked a few hours ago. After the war was declared over by Sengoku, a wave of relief went through the ranks of the navy. The tension quickly gave way to the cruel reality and so it was no wonder that you saw many broken soldiers on your way west. Injured or not, they were sitting on the ground, crying or staring silently into nothingness. Good men had lost their lives that day, young and old alike. Families had lost mothers and fathers, parents their children. It was a single nightmare from which no one could wake up.  
"Onigumo!", the older vice admiral was a bit battered but didn't seem to be badly wounded. He saw you running towards him from a distance and put his hands in his pockets. Most of the vices were gathered here, but you couldn't make out the one you were looking for anywhere.  
"Let me see." Your grumpy colleague grabbed your chin and lifted it a little. "A deep cut, huh?"  
"It's not that bad." you replied and tried to get rid of him. It had been a long time since he was your instructor, but he still felt responsible for you, and he was always happy to put you in your place. "Really, it hardly hurts at all."  
"Let the doctors take a look anyway." he growled and lit a cigar. He was an experienced and always captured vice, but you could see the burden on him. Even Onigumo had not been able to pass this day easily. You looked around searching. Where was Bastille?  
"In the back, by the parade ground." Onigumo looked at you with a side glance. He knew exactly what was going on inside you. "He's having some scratches patched up, the pansy."  
"Thank you-!" you whispered to him and you hurried on past Doberman and Momonga, who you only nodded at. It didn't seem that any vices had been hurt too badly, even though some of the pirates had been pretty big fish and could have done a lot of damage.

The whole building - No, the whole island was one big pile of rubble. You had to climb over a lot of wall debris, helped up a commodore on the way and dragged him the short way to the big white tents. Directly on the large parade ground an auxiliary military hospital had been built, a small village of white tents. Doctors hurried back and forth, cared for the critical patients first, and yet for some soldiers any help came too late. The air still smelled of gunpowder, burnt flesh and metal - or was it blood?  
"Bastille!" You saw the giant standing in front of one of the tents, his left arm wrapped in bandages. It seemed to be bleeding heavily, as red as the white bandage had already turned. You handed over the injured commodore to a doctor and hurried the last few meters to the redhead.  
Your relationship had been going on for almost a year, but of course it was as much of a secret as it could be in this club full of gossips. Soldiers loved to gossip about their superiors, and you two were no exception. To avoid stupid rumors, you had never talked about your relationship in public or revealed it openly.  
But at that moment you didn't care about that at all. You fell into his arms, pressed yourself against him in relief and then looked up at him with tears in your eyes. He seemed to understand that the secrecy was over and returned your embrace with the same deep relief.  
"I'm so glad you're all right!" you said and tried to blink the tears away. "I wouldn't know what to do without you."  
"Oh please, how weak do you think I am?" he replied to you, but also seemed more than happy to see you unharmed. You broke away from him, but he put an arm around your waist and pulled you to his side. The first astonished whispers came up and you snorted.  
"We should never have kept it a secret, huh?" you whispered to him as you both made your way back to the other vice. "One way or another, the rumors would've been there."  
He growled approvingly and pulled you a little closer.  
"You are bleeding." he noted as unobtrusively as possible, but you could hear the worry in his voice. As hard and serious as he was on the outside, he had been open and warm-hearted towards you since your first met.  
"Not too bad," you replied gently. "A paramedic should look at it later."  
"He'd better."  
You laughed slightly, wrapped your own arm around his side, and so you went arm in arm to the west side of Marineford, where the other vices had gathered and held the first debriefing. Partly astonished looks greeted you, partly amused.  
"At last they are telling us. Took them forever!" you heard Momonga say to Onigumo and you could swear that after an annoyed groan, Dalmatian handed over some money to his colleague Doberman. Wait, you were bet on?!  
"It took long enough, really." growled Onigumo, but you heard the warm, fatherly tone of his voice. So your relationship hadn't been that secret after all - you could have saved yourself this annoying secrecy!  
"So everyone knew about it?" Bastille sighed, but you laughed at his embarrassment.  
"Of course." said Cancer, and could hardly contain a laugh. "Above all, the walls of the quarters are really very thin."  
"Yes, the noise level was more than obvious." Maynard agreed, and the group broke out in laughter. You ran up bright red, your face buried in your hands in shame and even Bastille didn't seem to feel very comfortable in his skin.  
The laughter continued for a few minutes, releasing you all for a brief moment of the icy hand of war. It felt good to be able to forget death for a moment. That it had cost so many lives and that each of you carried a mental scar from it, torn within you by the blood and despair of that day.  
When silence returned between you, it was overwhelming and seemed strangely unnatural. The cries of pain of a wounded man came from far away, and quickly the summary of the previous counts of the dead began. Gone was the brief moment of normality and your stomach ached at the number of the dead. You felt Bastille pulling you a little closer and you leaned at his side. Throughout the entire fight you were separated, you couldn't take care of him and he couldn't take care of you. But from the moment you fell into his arms you could finally breathe again. The weight had fallen off your shoulders and the relief of having him by your side eased the pain.  
You would never be able to forget that day, no matter how much you wanted to. But at least you were alive and could finally be honest about your relationship. The thought made you smile with relief and you nudged the redhead slightly. Questioningly he looked at you and you gave him a broad smile.  
"Love you," you murmur to him, so softly that only he could hear it.  
"Love you, too."


	36. Corazon - Family

Groaning and with a blanket thrown around your shoulders you groped into the kitchen. For days you had been lying in bed with a flu and had to take it easy. The fever had subsided somewhat, but you didn't feel really healthy.  
"You're supposed to be sleeping." you were intercepted by Doflamingo, who looked at the big dining table and watched you creeping around. "You're useless when you're sick, and you know it."  
"Thirsty." you croaked in a rough voice.  
"I've condemned the children to take care of you." growled the blond and continued to browse through his newspaper. "Where are these brats?"  
"They are children." you replied, suppressing the coughing in your lungs while you rummaged in the closet for a bottle of water. "They've gone to play instead."  
"Good-for-nothings." it came from your captain and you sighed deeply. There was nothing to be found in this chaos of kitchen, not even some bottled water or maybe a soup.  
"Is Jola there? At least she knows how to heat up some food," you asked, leaning exhausted against the countertop. Dizziness seized you and you just wanted to go back to bed.  
"No, she's out with Gladius and Machvise, they're doing something for me." you got the cool answer. So probably hungry and thirsty to bed again, unless you wanted to drink the slightly dirty water from the tap, which always had to be boiled first. This lousy dosshouse was really shitty, you moaned internally. The Donquixote pirate gang had already been settling on a small winter island for about a month because Tsuru was hot on your heels. It was a mystery to you how they could track you so purposefully and where they got the information about your plans from. Doffy rarely shied away from a fight, but last time you almost lost out to the intelligent vice admiral. So you kept a low profile, even if it meant that after a few days you caught a cold that turned into a real bad flu.  
"Ah, Corazon. You're right on cue." The younger Donquixote had just entered your hiding place when he was already intercepted by Doflamingo. Astonished he looked at his brother questioningly and Doffy nodded over to you. "The children have escaped, so you have to drag her back to bed. What should I do with her if she can't fight!"  
"I can hear you, you know..." you grumbled insulted and looked at Corazon, who was only shaking his head mute as ever.  
"Come on, I can't bare to watch this. On top of that, it's disgusting.", Doflamingo pushed further and after an annoyed groan Corazon went to you, grabbed you by the arm and dragged you back to your room.  
"I can walk by myself." you growled at him, but he seemed to just want to get it over with quickly. He opened your room door, pushed you roughly to the bed, and turned to leave when you quickly grabbed his sleeve. He stopped and you got a questioning look.  
"Could you please - I'm quite thirsty." you said softly and rubbed your aching neck. He hesitated, but then he just snorted and left the room. So apparently no water for you. A little disappointed, you laid down and your tired bones thanked you. The feeling that even your skin ached because of the fever was unbearable. You sweated and were glad that you had managed to take a shower in the morning. Exhausted, you sighed deeply and pulled the blanket a little tighter around your body. Although it was too warm, you snuggled in as well as possible. It was either too warm or too cold - you couldn't wait to get well again! The next time you were chasing the kids because they were up to no good again, you would put on a coat.

About twenty minutes passed and you were already half dozed off again when the clattering of dishes startled you. Immediately you sat upright in bed, startled by this sudden disturbance. A hand was placed on your forehead and you realized that it was Corazon who had actually managed to bring you something hot to eat without spilling it on himself! The warm hand on your forehead made you close your eyes for a short moment. He checked your temperature and nodded slightly - apparently your fever was no longer in the threatening range. He nudged you and you looked at him. He handed you a glass of water, which you accepted gratefully. Your thirst was so overwhelming that you emptied it in two big tugs and you could swear that water had never tasted this good before.  
"T-Thank you." you said softly, startled by your own voice. You could hardly get a word out correctly, so bruised was your throat from this flu. "I must take care of my voice, huh..."  
He winked at you and a smile crept up on your face. It was shared silence then! He gestured to the soup on your bedside table and you nodded eagerly. Your stomach had been rumbling for hours, demanding food, but your appetite had vanished without a trace with the arrival of the flu. You were a little surprised that Corazon had taken the trouble to bring food to your bed. But after all you were a family, albeit a very strange and dysfunctional family.  
Apparently you looked pretty bad when he took pity on you and took over the children's task...  
You sat up and reached for the bowl of soup. You preferred to put it on your lap yourself, after all Corazon was known for his clumsiness. It was an unspectacular canned soup, but since you could hardly taste anything anyway, it was just right. As long as it was warm and finally something in your stomach, you thought you were satisfied.  
Again you were poked from the side after a few minutes, this time Corazon tried to put a cup of hot tea in your hand. Gratefully you swapped soup for tea and smelled the tempting hot drink. You took a small sip and immediately pulled your face a little - it was incredibly bitter!  
Questioningly, you tilted your head, with a somewhat indignant look. He shrugged his shoulders and held the tea bag packaging under your nose. It was a herbal tea that he had probably let steep for far too long. You gave the blond man as grateful a smile as possible, but the tea wasn't very good. But the effort he had made with it alone flattered you.  
"A little water would have been enough." you said quietly, but Corazon just shook his head. From the pocket of his coat, he pulled a piece of paper and a pencil and began to write.  
'Someone has to take care of you. You are sick.' he wrote in his spidery, hard-to-read handwriting.  
"Actually, the children should do that." you sighed and took another sip of the much too bitter tea. Couldn't he have at least put some honey in it? "But they ran away from their responsibility as always."  
He rolled his eyes, which was probably due to the children. It was no secret that he did not like Baby 5, Buffalo and Law very much. But you couldn't be too angry with the little ones, after all they wanted to play and not have to take care of a sick crewmate! But Corazon seemed to have a different opinion and you guessed that there would be a beating afterwards.  
"Don't be too hard on them. They are still so young." you asked him quietly and once again held your aching neck. He shook his head and put his finger on his lips - you really should spare your voice. Nodding, you leaned back and enjoyed the silence between you. Tiredness clouded your mind and your body cried out for sleep. So you put the cup down on the bedside table and sighed softly. Corazon stayed by your side, sat on a chair next to your bed and immersed himself in the book you liked to read before sleeping. Would he really stay with you all the time?, you asked yourself. Surely he had better things to do.  
Almost asleep, you felt the blanket being pulled a little higher and a slight smile crept up your lips. This family was a mess and more than just dysfunctional, but you didn't want to be without it. And especially not without Corazon.


	37. Katakuri - Curious

"Good morning," you greeted the elder of the triplets, who seemed to be a little bored. The weekly delivery was due once again and your trading ship just docked at Whole Cake Island, filled to the top with all kinds of goods. Weapons, resources and of course a lot of food.  
"You're early." Katakuri noticed and gave you a bored look. As unnoticed as possible, he pulled his wide scarf a little higher, but you already knew that from him. "Earlier than usual."  
"I really wanted to see you, you know." you replied cheekily and instructed your crew to start unloading. Grumbling, crates and barrels were carried off the ship while you joined Katakuri, who had been waiting for you at the dock. Well, at least you suspected that he was waiting for you and not for the ship itself. You hoped so.  
"Don't make stupid jokes.", you got the usual cool answer. That it wasn't really a joke you didn't tell the son of the Charlotte family - you were not quite sure how he would react.  
You had known each other for a long time - almost twelve years - but he had never paid attention to your rather weak approaches. You were still young, there was still a chance to convince Big Mom to find him a decent woman. Oven and Daifuku were both younger than Katakuri, so he would probably get married first. At least that was your faltering hope, because you still had to have the luck to become his chosen one. But what chances did you have as captain of a simple merchant ship? You would still use the weekly supply trips as an excuse to see Katakuri, even if it was only for about an hour. If you were particularly unlucky, the oldest of the triplets was not present and was represented by his brother Oven - those days were terribly dull and disappointing.  
"You know I'm just kidding." you repulsed Katakuri's mild indignation, sat down next to him on the stone wall at the dock and pulled out a list. Little by little you ticked off the goods that found their way from your ship to the island. Thirty crates of preserved cherries, about 200 sacks of baking soda, almost half a ton of sugar, and countless other supplies.  
"Is it really fun even if I don't think it's funny?" Katakuri asked after a quiet minute next to you. Again he pulled his scarf higher and avoided your gaze at all costs. He was acting weird, what was wrong with him? Today, he was in a really bad mood.  
"Oh... I'm sorry." you said and lowered the list a bit. "I didn't know you were taking the whole thing so seriously. I'm sorry, really."  
The redhead hesitated for a moment, sat next to you petrified with his arms crossed. Then he sighed and tapped on the paper in your hands.  
"Give it to me, I'll sign for it." You handed him the list of goods, watched as he scribbled his name at the bottom of the paper. You didn't expect such a fine, neat handwriting from him. Every week you were fascinated by his handwriting, by his name on the delivery bill. Damn, you just had to look at him and your heart started racing - the light, warm feeling in your stomach didn't really help. Maybe you should choose another route, get another captain to deliver Big Mom. If he hated your innuendoes so much, you might want to stop docking at Whole Cake Island next week.  
"You're brooding." Katakuri shes at you, the otherwise so indifferent look asking.  
"Oh, it's just... ...it's just..." Since your plan was to stop supplying the redheaded idiot next week anyway, why not just ask? "Katakuri, do you like me?"  
Oh dear, you must have gotten him off on the wrong foot with that - or maybe you just hit the mark. You saw how he hesitated and started pulling on his scarf again to hide his fangs. Of course you knew about the - quite morbid - fangs of the young man, because after all you had known each other for ages. He hadn't worn the cloaking scarf for a long time, until one day it got too stupid for him and he started to hide. He also hid it from you, even if it didn't bother you in the least.  
"I wouldn't bother with you if I didn't like you." he answered you evasively and avoided your gaze as best he could. Everything was more interesting than your eyes: the stone wall, the bow of your ship and even the seagulls.  
"That is not true!" you replied sourly. "It is your job to sign for the goods. So you must deal with me, for better or worse. Anyway, that's answer enough for me."  
You jumped up, folded the list up and put it in your pocket. Hmm, apparently he really didn't like you in the romantic way that gave **you** sleepless nights. Too bad, then you wouldn't be delivering the goods anymore!  
"From next week on another supplier will come to you." You announced and knocked off your pants, which were full of sand and dirt on your butt. "I'll send Oven the new data."  
Now Katakuri looked at you with keen interest, really unusual for him - otherwise he was unimpressed by everything.  
"What?", he asked immediately and his scarf slipped down a bit, but for once he wasn't interested. He towered over you by far, as huge as he was. At that moment, however, he somehow seemed smaller than usual, somehow... insecure? He really behaved more than just strangely today.  
"Katakuri, I like you." you said and disappointment gnawed at your heart. But what could you do, after all, he wasn't in love with you as you were with him. "I am afraid I like you too much. If you know what I mean."  
Katakuri stared at you, motionless for a few seconds. Then a deep sigh escaped him, he pulled up his scarf after all and his tense shoulders relaxed a little.  
"I'm so relieved!" he said and plunged you into complete confusion. Was he happy that you would not come anymore? What a damned idiot!  
The redhead saw your confusion and his look was amused.  
"No, not because you refuse to deliver any more.", he caught your anger and you could swear he was smiling. "You will continue to deliver, I want no one else."  
Ah. So now he told you to keep on sailing this course.  
"So you like me?" Oh. Now his tone became not only amusing, but also teasing, almost demanding. You nodded weakly, feeling your cheeks getting a little warmer. Just don't blush now, then it became even more embarrassing!  
"So I was right." Katakuri continued as he moved one step closer to you. You swallowed, felt your heart threaten to overturn. Only a few inches separated you and Katakuri leaned down towards you. "You **_do_** have a crush on me."  
Again you nodded, only this time much more hesitantly. Never before had he come so close to you and you could see the sparkle in the dark eyes. The beginnings of the scars, which stretched over his entire face up to his ears. The tips of the fangs, which you did not find strange like all the others.  
"I had already suspected that." he continued, the voice dark and rough - your knees would give way if he came even an inch closer. "And I had hoped for it. Otherwise I might have made a fool of myself by asking you out for dinner."  
"Dinner!?", you asked and heard your own voice higher than usual. Oh, man, could you act any more like a teenager in heat?  
"Next week, after the delivery." Katakuri suggested. "The best thing to do is change your route so that you reach Whole Cake by evening."  
With that, he nodded goodbye to you and set off to accompany the goods to the main warehouse. Shocked by this incredible turn of events, you waved weakly, even though Katakuri had already turned his back on you.  
"O-Okay!", you shouted after him, your hands clasping the hem of your shirt.  
Hence the strange behavior, you thought and swallowed against your dry mouth. Your crush was a really, really weird guy.


	38. Katakuri - Suicide

It was a vicious, dirty ambush.  
Typical world government, really.  
As head of security, you held the figure of the tower in the Charlotte family; it was your job to keep the family safe, whether on Whole Cake Island or on the family's few rare outings. Who would have thought that the Navy was actually laying in wait for a damn family outing? Only Opera, Galette and you were out with the family's eight youngest, a harmless trip beyond Totto Land to free the kids from Mom's bad mood for just one day.  
And before you knew it, four big ships of the Navy were anchored at the other end of the island, the troop of soldiers already on their way to you. It would only be a few minutes before they reached your small group! Katakuri's decision to send you alone and no additional soldiers was flattering - he really seemed to have confidence in your abilities - but not very farsighted. Otherwise the older son of the family was much more cautious? And now you had the trouble of having a bunch of little kids crying, screaming and yelling on a small island outside the safety of Mom's protective hand. A damn disaster.  
"Galette!" you shouted to the redheaded beauty who was a little bit behind you and tried to silence the children, "Grab the little ones and set sail immediately!  
"What's the matter with you," Galette asked immediately, but pressed the young brothers and sisters to herself, who whimpered and cried incessantly in the face of impending danger. "Opera has already informed Whole Cake Island! Help is already on the way, if we can just hold out-!  
"Galette!", you drove at her impatiently. Nervousness crept up your neck and fear for the youngest of the Charlotte family gave you a stomachache. You didn't want to know what Mom would do to you if something happened to her offspring.  
Sure, help was already on the way to you - but until then the children would be in the crossfire between Opera, Galette, you and the Navy. You had to avoid collateral damage at all costs.  
"This is suicide!" Galette's voice was no less angry. "You can hardly stand alone against such a march of the Navy!"  
"It's not about winning," you said, shouldering your gun. The rumbling of the approaching soldiers grew louder and louder. The children had to leave immediately! "I'm just gaining some time. And now make sure you disappear!"  
The redhead flinched a little under your harsh tone, but then just nodded and ordered the children to hold hands. No one was to be left behind, no one was to escape her watchful gaze.  
Although she was a stubborn woman who was only too happy to have her way, she was not stupid and knew what your chances were. Just like you knew what your chances were in this fight against countless soldiers, all on your own.  
The first battle cries of the soldiers came to your ears and only when you saw the small group of the Charlotte family disappearing on the horizon did you pull out your weapon completely, ready to attack. No one would get past you and harm your protégés!

It hurt.  
Everything hurt.  
Every millimeter of your body was on fire, your head felt like it was going to break in half any moment. Was it your blood that you tasted? Or was it the blood of the soldiers? You didn't know it, but the metallic taste in your mouth was simply disgusting. Exhausted and wounded, you lay in the lush green grass, your gaze blurred and directed toward the sky. Blood had tinted the beautiful flowers red and you were surrounded by dead naval soldiers. It was a hard fight, you had given everything. How many of them you had killed was beyond your knowledge, but there were too damn many!  
"There you are." A shadow obscured your vision and you squeezed your heavy eyelids a little to see the outlines better.  
"Katakuri," you muttered weakly, but relieved beyond all measure. "I'm afraid I didn't get them all."  
"I know. I took care of it." He sat next to you in the squatting position, watching you with his cold, beautiful eyes. You were relieved that he was here and that you had accomplished your task. Satisfying him was your greatest wish and if that meant pitting you against a thousand marines, then so be it. After all, you had protected the youngest offspring of the Charlotte family with your life and everyone knew how much Katakuri cared for the family. The family was probably the only important thing for him in this world, you thought.  
"The children are fine?" you asked weakly and had to bite your lower lip to avoid vomiting. You had the feeling that your stomach was burning. Were you bleeding internally? Probably.  
"They're all fine," you received a terse answer and felt Katakuri's hands go under your shoulders and knees. You were picked up from the floor and felt the soft fabric and fur of his scarf on your face. As soft as the fabric was otherwise, at that moment the touch on your skin was almost unbearable.  
Wordlessly he carried you across the battlefield, taking care not to move too much. Your injuries had to be really bad, as careful as he was with you. The blinding pain in your left arm and upper body numbed almost all your senses.  
"You've done well." A word of praise was rare from the family's second oldest son, but unfortunately you just couldn't enjoy it at that moment. As you tried to move your left hand, you flinched with a faint whimper and decided to avoid any further movement.  
"Ah, shit!", the pain in your arm became stronger. "My arm-! I-Is it broken?"  
"It was severed." Oh. Oh.  
"That's why it hurts so much," you noticed breathlessly. At least you hadn't lost your sense of humor, but: you wanted to cry, to be shocked, to be angry about losing a body part - but the pain numbed absolutely everything in your body, even the emotions. You felt yourself being pressed closer to the warm body of the commander. Was it something like compassion? You knew that Katakuri was by no means completely emotionless, only compassion was not necessarily his strong point.  
"You almost killed yourself with that action," Katakuri narrowly remarked, and you heard voices from afar. The ship was probably not far away.  
"I had to protect her after all." Was it your sense of duty? Or the fact that you would do anything for Katakuri? I guess it was both. "After all, that is my duty."  
"The ship's doctor is waiting," Katakuri coolly informed you, and you sighed in relief. Painkillers, bandages, and probably more than just surgery were waiting for you. In a few weeks you would feel better and you could go back to your daily routine. That was a small hope you clung on to in this moment. Perospero would probably have to make you a new arm out of sticky sugar mass so that you could fight again.  
"Katakuri?," you asked hesitantly as he landed on the railing in a single bound, still extremely careful not to aggravate your injuries.  
"Hmm?"  
"I'll be out for a while, so please excuse me."  
Surprised, he looked down at you, surprised that that was your only concern at that moment. An amused sparkle lay in his otherwise gloomy eyes as he looked at you once more and then nodded.  
"It's all right." Oh, how you loved that deep voice, how it accompanied you as you slowly lost consciousness due to the immense blood loss.  
"You must visit me while I am ill," you muttered with your last strength. No answer, but you felt him pressing you a little closer to his chest. The warmth of his body lulled you in and you knew everything would be all right.


	39. Zoro - The fool

"Still awake?", you asked mischievously and dropped onto the wood next to Zoro. It was the fourth night in a row that he had been given the night shift in the crow's nest - he really shouldn't mess with Nami!  
"Very funny, really." the swordsman rumbled sullenly. Although Zoro was only too happy to take on the task of the lookout - since that was his training room after all - four nights in a row was tough.  
"You need a shower." you turned up your nose as you moved a bit closer and handed him an apple from the galley. Sanji didn't like it when you secretly went to the supplies and plundered the fruit. Fortunately it was almost three o'clock in the morning and he was already fast asleep.  
"I was training." you got in reply. "I can't shower on guard duty."  
"True." you admitted and bit heartily into the red, juicy fruit. It was a deliciously sweet apple, just the way you liked it. Zoro also ate his nightly snack while you two stared out at the black open sea. It was a very calm night, hardly any wind was blowing around the sails of Sunny and the ship itself was dead quiet. That was probably the best thing about Zoro: he wasn't too talkative. Luffy, Chopper and Usopp were already making enough noise throughout the day, so you welcomed some peace in your chaotic everyday life very much. And since Zoro was definitely the calmest of the pirates - besides Robin - you got along wonderfully. Maybe even a little too wonderful, considering the incident two weeks ago.  
First of all, it should be said that relationships under Nakama were not forbidden, just not very welcome. Feelings usually only caused problems in battles, but it was actually a little different with the straw hats. This gang was more of a family, except for Sanji, who danced around Nami and Robin like a love-crazed teenager. And that you were with Zoro of all people... Well, you had made good use of your time together as sentries in the night.  
Since then it's been a little strange between you two. It wasn't a broken relationship, but you already knew about the difficult circumstances of the situation. What would Luffy say if it came out? After all, the captain had the last word on such things. And what would Nami think about it - the scolding would be horrible.  
"Are we going to talk about it?", you asked hesitantly and continued gnawing on your apple.  
"Why should we." That was not a question, but a statement. He didn't want to talk about it - that was too bad, because you did.  
"About the other day." you went on and looked up at one of the twinkling stars above you. "The kiss. The sex."  
Now Zoro became visibly uncomfortable in his skin as he avoided your gaze and threw the last remnant of the apple core into the sea. He didn't answer you at first, but then he thought of something better when he had sorted his thoughts a bit. That's okay, you thought. We have time. The night is still young.  
"We were drunk. Like, really drunk." Zoro finally said. He wasn't wrong about that, after a wild party with lots of alcohol you had your very own party. Of course, the beer had loosened your spirits, only intensified the temptations that had always been there and finally a voice had rumbled in your heads: Why not?  
And now you were here, together and yet _not actually_ together. Two weeks later with sad faces and regrets in your hearts. Which of you two was the bigger fool? You, because you had just kissed Zoro - or he, because he had gone for it? It's hard to say which of you two was more guilty of all this.  
More important was how things would go on now.  
"I don't really regret it." you said quietly and you too threw the apple's remains overboard. "I am only unhappy about the circumstances under which it happened."  
"What do you mean by that?"  
"We were drunk." you gestured impatiently with your hand. Didn't he understand at all what you meant? "I had imagined it to be without alcohol. Sober."  
"Imagined?", the swordsman caught you and looked at you sideways. "So this was planned?"  
Oh, shit.  
"Not planned." you mumbled evasively. "More like... ...wanted. Or hoped for."  
"Wait, wait." Now Zoro turned to you. "So you really think there's something behind this, not just a physical attraction?"  
"Perhaps." you returned, evasively again, avoiding looking directly at him. This conversation quickly became quite embarrassing as you wanted to keep your feelings out of it. Of course you liked Zoro and of course you wanted physical contact. Nobody could have guessed that this would end in a passionate night in the lookout!  
He sighed, a little resigned. Rarely did you see him depressed, but at this moment he didn't seem to be happy about your statement.  
"It's not possible." he finally said and his serious look gave you goose bumps. "You know that as well as I do. As tempting as it may be, it will only bring us trouble."  
"Hmm, I thought you'd say something like that," you replied with some light sadness in your voice. Hope died last but now it was officially dead.  
"We really are idiots." you muttered to the starry sky. "To do something this stupid..."  
"I wouldn't call it stupid." You felt a warm shoulder on yours as Zoro moved a little closer and the two of you finally stared out to sea together with that tiny physical contact. "Wrong time, wrong place. That's all."  
"Will there ever be a right time and place?" you asked, leaning your head on his shoulder. He didn't avoid your touch, just put on a wry grin and sighed again.  
"Who knows, once Luffy has become pirate king we might have some free time on our hands, y'know?" Zoro replied with an amused undertone and you felt a short twitch in the muscle of his arm. You knew what he was thinking but didn't dare. So you grabbed his wrist, pulled his arm over your shoulder and took a deep breath. You had never experienced such a pleasant, tingling warmth before - but the vice was absolutely right. There was no room for a relationship, no room for romantic feelings in this crew. But maybe the opportunity arose at some point, who knew? Until then, you two idiots would have to leave it on a wonderful night together. A nice memory that connected the two of you - just you two idiots.  
"You really need a shower."  
"I know."


	40. Sabo - Moonlight

Out of the corner of your eye you gave Sabo an angry look, your rifle at the ready and your mood at an all time low. Head over heels he had once again thrown himself into the mission and who was left behind? Correct: You.  
Your task was simple: Destroy the arsenal of a naval base, which was located on a small island, in order to temporarily interrupt the supply of ammunition and armament and thus weaken the navy. Simple mission, difficult execution. It should be a secret mission, you should destroy the arsenal undetected and then come back to the base. Koala had warned you about Sabo's thirst for action, but you didn't think it was really that bad working with him.  
"Why the hell couldn't you just stay in the shadows?" you muttered and looked through the scope on your rifle once more to keep track of all the hustle and bustle of the Marines. They had discovered Sabo after he had simply blown up the huge hall with the help of his new devil fruit powers. He had only been back at the base for two days, came to this mission as your backup - and screwed it up!  
"That way it went much faster." he defended himself, but looked down a little worried to the Navy camp. You had found refuge from the hustle and bustle in the camp, high up in one of the huge trees in the forest. Involuntarily you had to think of the trees on the Sabaody Archipelago, these unbelievably high mangroves - but this forest was not cut down with shimmering soap bubbles. Only the calls of the soldiers came up to you and the glow of the blazing fire was bright in this dark night. Only at dawn your ride would dock at the other end of the island, so now you had to do everything to avoid being discovered until it was time to leave.  
"If you had stuck to my plan, everything would be much more relaxed now. It would have gone smoothly." you rumbled impatiently. "Just running into the camp and let everything go up in flames, you're out of your mind, Sabo!"  
"Hey, I'm still your commander." he interjected, but you only laughed at his title. Sabo was Dragon's favorite and strong too - but as Koala always said, he also was an idiot.  
"Commander or not, we're stuck in a tree because of you." you silenced him and sighed. It was cold and your thin coat was not suitable to hide so high up: The wind whistled around your ears and made you shiver. Your fingers were already numb from the cold, but you both had no choice but to persevere in the treetop. Sabo could make fire through his devilish powers, but the light would betray your whereabouts instantly. He didn't seem to mind the cold, after all the fire warmed him from the inside.  
You looked up to the sky, it was clear and the stars sparkled down on you gloatingly. What would you give for a blanket or at least some tea! Instead, you tightened the thin fabric of your coat and buried your nose in the collar. Your breath whirled up small clouds that quickly dispersed in the darkness, making you realize that it had to be almost zero degrees.  
"Come here." Sabo grabbed your coat by the back and pulled you towards him. You were terrified, almost dropped your rifle and squealed softly when your back hit his chest. Two arms wrapped around your upper body, pressing you tightly against your commander. With a dry mouth you looked up, looked into two cheerfully sparkling eyes. He was always in such a good mood, it was really contagious!  
"Sabo...", you muttered embarrassed and tried to free yourself from his grip. "Let go, you can't do that!"  
His arms were too strong, after you sat up you were promptly pulled back to his chest. Your ears were red with embarrassment and you did not know how to react. Was it just to keep warm, had he noticed you shaking like a leaf? Or was there more to it in the end?  
"But you're freezing." he said and looked down at you reproachfully. "Why do you even wear such a thin jacket?"  
Did he scold you now? It should be the other way around!  
"If you hadn't blown up the camp, we wouldn't be sitting in this cursed treetop in this triple cursed wind." you replied angrily. He shrugged his shoulders, as always unimpressed by any complications.  
"But look at the sky, isn't it wonderful?" he said and looked up. It was really beautiful - the full moon, already waning again, cast light on you in this bright, clear night, bathed everything in a silvery shimmer. "If I hadn't set fire to the camp, we wouldn't be able to enjoy this."  
He was right about that, and without this predicament you probably wouldn't have found yourself in his arms either, as you did now. His right hand had ventured further down from your upper arm, sliding inch by inch lower, up to your waist. You were haunted by the feeling that there was more behind it than just a favor among friends. You looked up from the corner of your eye at the blond and pulled your brows together. Could it be that this was all a plan of his? Could it be that he had deliberately torched the armory so that you two would have to find a good hiding place by morning and some togetherness was the result?  
"It was all intentional, wasn't it?" you expressed your suspicion and examined him briefly. His reaction was prompt, his caught and guilty look swerved to the side and he immediately shook his head,  
"Intentionally, what?" he asked. "I don't know what you mean."  
"Oh, so it was!!", you slapped him against the shoulder, but you didn't want to get out of his warm embrace either. "What if I catch cold because of your great idea?"  
"I don't know what you mean." he insisted on his innocence and you felt yourself being pulled even closer to him. "But I'll make sure you don't catch a cold."  
You said nothing more about it, but he looked so guilty that you were probably right. Sabo could be so devious, it always surprised you. No wonder he was Dragon's right-hand man. He was strong, compassionate, and pretty smart, too. But the fact that he betrayed you and put you in danger just to get at you - that just stirred up your anger.  
You grabbed your rifle firmly with both hands, reached out and rammed the handle into his stomach. He groaned, surprised by this attack.  
"Hey!", he complained immediately and held his aching stomach. "What was that all about?!"  
"Never lie to me again - or endanger the mission. That's highly unprofessional." you growled at him, but leaned your head against his shoulder and sighed deeply. At least you were no longer cold.  
"How long until sunrise?" Sabo asked and you rummaged in the pocket of your coat for your watch.  
"Just under three hours." you said and lolling a little in one arm.  
"Then I'll have to keep you warm in any case..." you heard close to your ear and an amused snort you couldn't help but snort. In the light of the moon, you watched the soldiers in the camp who put out the fire and sent out the first search parties to search the forest for you and capture you. They would never find you, so well hidden in the treetops and tightly wrapped around you.  
So the mission was not such a failure after all.


	41. Shanks - Precious Treasure

"The infamous Shanks." you said with a broad grin and leaned back in your chair. "I never thought I'd see you old rascal again."  
"Good to see you." said the Yonko, and sat down opposite you in another chair. Your office was dark and small, crammed with all kinds of cupboards to store your accounts. Three members of the Red Hair Pirates had gathered in this small room, with a large chest in tow with what appeared to be very heavy contents. Your reputation as an accountant preceded you, but probably mainly because of your ability to launder money and that you could convert goods into money. Many pirates came to see you, but only very few could afford your discretion.  
"Hello Ben, Hello Yasopp." you greeted his two companions and they nodded to you nicely. Even then you got along well with the Red Hair pirates when you were young and new in the business and when Shanks still had both arms.  
"Where did you leave Lucky?" The fat sergeant of Shanks was missing, otherwise he was always with his captain.  
"Are you crazy?" Shanks answered and laughed. "So we have to cuddle here even more? You really need a bigger office!"  
"It serves its purpose." Your gaze wandered to the chest Ben was sitting on and you gave the redhead an interested look. "So what do you got for me?"  
"You know the old stories with the treasure maps and the big red 'X' on the island, don't you?" Shanks told Shanks and Yasopp rolled his eyes in the background. You raised your hands defensively, you could guess the rest of the story.  
"He really trusted a cheap map with an 'X' on it," you turned to Ben, who shrugged and nodded his shoulders.  
"You know the captain, he's easy to get excited." said the vice, and Yasopp began to laugh in the background.  
"Hey!," Shanks complained immediately, but that's the way it was with the Red Hair pirates. You smiled and pulled out a small list from one of the cupboards.  
"Let's see what you've got."  
It was a remarkable yield: many kilos of gold coins, jewels as big as the palm of your hand and even a richly decorated tiara was in the chest. You noted down the entire contents of the chest and calculated the approximate value in your head. A good amount of berry came together and you already had a buyer in mind for the jewels. With this precious treasure a lot of interest would be paid for you.  
"You'll get me through the next two months with this." you whispered contentedly and finally handed Shanks the estimate. "And there's plenty in it for you too."  
He took the list from you and skimmed it.  
"You can get more out of it, come on." said the redhead and handed you the paper back. You raised your eyebrows, surprised by his demand. A quick glance at Ben and Yasopp that was definite and they left your office. You conducted the negotiations only with the captain, even his vice had no business here.  
"Something to drink?", you asked and reached under your desk. A bottle of whiskey appeared, with two glasses to go with it.  
"Always." the redhead agreed and accepted the filled glass with the hint of a smile. "And yet I want more for the gold."  
You stood up, waved the glass of whiskey in your hand for a moment, and then walked around the desk. You'd known the Red Shanks for years, since you were young. Your first encounter with the Yonko was shortly after Roger's death. At that time you had started your first job as an accountant in Loguetown and witnessed the execution of the notorious pirate. Shanks had formed his own crew very soon after, together with Ben Beckman. You had appreciated their first loot back then and that was your first job as a buyer's agent. So it was actually thanks to Shanks that you were now a popular name among the pirates.  
"You'll only get more money if I waive the interest." you said, "The value is fixed, and even if I already knew a buyer, why should I waive my share?"  
Your tone was challenging, suggestive and more than obvious. Even then it had been an occasional pleasure between the two of you, a casual thing. It was nice, though.  
"Remember Whiskey Peak?" you asked and took a sip. "Two bottles of port and that little room over the bar."  
Shanks laughed rough, nodded as he thought about that night over 15 years ago.  
"We were pretty drunk." he said amused. "You waived your interest then."  
"Then you know how you can make up for my loss this time too." you purred and sat down on the corner of your desk. "I'm sure you've been on the road a long time. Without shore leave."  
His hand placed the glass of whiskey on the tabletop and then drove over the wood all the way to you. With a mischievous smile you watched him, but had not the slightest intention of avoiding his touch. Too tempting was the beautiful pirate, with that fiery red hair and open shirt. The scars on his face looked good on him, but you felt sorry for his arm. You knew that he did not regret his loss, and yet it took some getting used to at first. He had sacrificed his arm to the future, he always sounded. Typical Shanks, he was as mysterious as he was handsome.  
"My crew will be wondering where I am." it came from him and you shook your head.  
"Come on, as if they don't know what we've been doing every few years." you tried to convince him and stroked your leg along his. "I can't give up my interest _and_ physical affection."  
"Since when did you get so brash?" Shanks looked at you with a curious look and you realized that this was not going to work out today. You could seldom persuade the redhead to do anything, and you usually had to bend to his will. Begging was of no use, seduction did not work for him either, and whether you got sugar depended entirely on his mood. You had already done so much for him, had so often found him a buyer for the treasures - couldn't you expect a little bit of attention?  
"Come on, don't be so stubborn." you grumbled and emptied your glass in one last breath. "We haven't seen each other for ages."  
Shanks shook his head and drank up too, whereupon he stood up and leaned down towards you. A short, fleeting kiss touched your lips and your hand buried itself in red hair. It was a drop on the hot stone, but that was all you would get from the Yonko that day.  
"You'll get your interest, sweetheart." said Shanks, and broke away from you, "Who knows, maybe I'll find another precious treasure soon?"


	42. Ben - Dreams

It was already late at night and you'd be asleep by now, but someone stopped you. You watched the glow of the cigarette in the darkness and pulled the blanket a little closer to your body.  
"You shouldn't smoke in my bed." you scolded Ben and took the cigarette out of the corner of his mouth.  
"Sorry, sweetheart." you heard the deep, rough voice next to you. Smiling, you leaned forward and kissed the vice of the Red Hair Pirates, who once again spent a night in your bed. It was lucky that you yourself were vice of a renowned crew, because you had your own little cabin with a lockable door. By chance, your ship ran into the Red Force, the huge vehicle of Shanks. Real friendships among pirates were more than rare, but your captain and Shanks kept a certain neutrality, so the two crews could party together for an evening. On a quiet island, large bonfires were lit, there was singing and dancing, drinking and eating. In all the hustle and bustle, you had been able to sneak away with Shanks' vice, a pleasure you hadn't had for some time. Too rarely did your crews meet, too rarely did you have the pleasure of inviting Ben to your bed. No relationships within the crew - a golden rule of the pirates - but nobody forbade you crew overlapping fun, did they?  
"Where do you sail to next?", you asked Ben quietly and put your head on his chest.  
"You know very well that I can't tell you that." you got in reply. He was right, why did you even ask? Such information could not be told outside the crew, but you often longed for him and wanted to see him again as soon as possible. This thing had been going on between you and Ben for ages, years and years. Your life as pirates did not allow for deep feelings, but that did not mean that you didn't have any feelings for him.  
"Are you tired?" he asked you, and his hand got lost in your hair, playing with a strand of hair. You shook your head, listening to the celebration of the two pirate crews on the shore of the island. You wanted to enjoy every minute with Ben, too soon your paths would part again.  
"Tell me a story." you asked him and he laughed softly. The rough noise gave you pleasant goose bumps on your back and you snuggled up a little closer to him.  
"What do you want me to tell you?", he asked. "You already know all the good stories."  
"Then tell me something about yourself." He was silent, seemed to be brooding. Ben was a reserved man and you didn't know much about him. Useless little things, yes. But you would like to know more about the man himself - his past or his dreams.  
"Okay, here's a suggestion." You sat up lightly and tilted your head. "I'll tell you something about myself, and you tell me something about yourself in return."  
"Barter." he said and reached for his cigarettes again. You didn't scold him this time, that was Ben, always smoking. You hardly ever saw him without a cigarette in the corner of his mouth, so you let him go.  
"As a sign of my good faith, I'll start too." you said. "I have two sisters and a brother."  
Benn sighed slightly, but then nodded in agreement.  
"Only child," he said. "When did you became a pirate?"  
"I was just a young 19 years old. And you?"  
"I was barely 16." he said. You raised your eyebrows and gave Ben a smile. So he had been at sea for over 20 years? You could tell he had, as serene and calm as he was. Ben always kept his cool and you never saw him go off the deep end. The only emotions you could see in him were probably when he was amused by Shanks' nonsense or when he was with you. Typical Ben, his face was always stony.  
"Your childhood dream?", you asked with a smug smile. Did something like fireman come along now?  
"Well, that's really very personal." Ben replied and looked at you out of the corner of his eye. "Is there anything in particular you want to get at?"  
"Just curious." You leaned forward a little and pressed a kiss on his cheek. "Do you mind if I get to know you?"  
"We've known each other for over ten years, what else do you want to get to know?"  
You sighed deeply - he evaded so often when you asked him about personal things. Was it too much to ask if he had wanted to become a fireman or a veterinarian as a child?  
"I wanted to join the Navy." he finally said and blew the smoke of his cigarette in the air. Your attention was caught, because you definitely hadn't expected that. So the legendary pirate Ben Beckman wanted to become a soldier as a child?  
"Your dream was to join the Navy - you're kidding me." you said.  
"Not for too long though." Ben then clarified. "The Navy's an uptight bunch of bureaucrats. It's no fun."  
Laughing, you agreed with him and ran your hand across his chest. To feel his skin under your fingers was an indescribably good feeling and soon he would set sail again and the Red Force would leave this island. Then again it took months, if not years until you saw him again! Months and years you spent alone in your bed. Only a few more hours until he left you and you both should enjoy this time.  
"What about you?"  
"Huh?" Your thoughts returned to the here and now and you looked up at him.  
"Your dream. Barter, remember?" You nodded, weighing your answers. Being a pirate had always been your dream, a dream that you lived - but it had changed a little since then. Everything you wished for lay next to you at that moment and would be gone in the morning. It would be wiser to lie, to hide the truth from him and leave it at that. It was better if Ben didn't know about your feelings, even if he could probably guess.  
"I always wanted to be a pirate." you finally said. "And now I'm a vice - well, what do you know..."  
"But that's not all, is it?" You felt a knowing look on your face and you rolled your eyes. Gotcha!  
"My other dream is garbage." you mumbled embarrassed and pulled him into a hug "I'll tell you next time."  
"I have a hunch." you heard his raspy voice close to your ear. He took the cigarette and threw it out of the open porthole, kissed you shortly after. Your hand went into the gray hair - damn, that he had really turned gray already - and you sighed softly. Warm hands that ran across your waist and only stopped at your thighs almost drove you crazy. The man just knew what you needed and he was more than willing to give it to you.  
"You know, they'll all be asleep soon." you muttered against Ben's lips. "That means we've only got twelve hours tops to ourselves while they sober up."  
You looked into two gray eyes that were staring at you extensively.  
"Should be enough."


	43. Marco - Anguish

"Marco, it can't go on like this." How many times would you have to talk to him? When did he finally understand that this hiding game had to stop?  
"Marco, please." You put one hand on his shoulder, but he shook it off immediately. For a year now he had been getting calmer and calmer, he was almost lethargic. As calm as the former vice was, even for him it was no longer normal to talk so little - you were seriously worried about him.  
A little more than a year ago you had suffered the fatal defeat against Blackbeard. Since then, the commanders had scattered, some even lost contact. As usual, you had been close on the Phoenix's heels and had been able to locate him after only a few weeks. He had only had a few crew members with him and they entrenched themselves on a small, deserted island. The ruins of a village were to be found there, a destroyed country in which the remains of the Whitebeard pirates hid like cowards. First they lost their father, the captain and Ace on the same day - then this devastating defeat against Blackbeard, the traitor. An enormous burden lay on Marco's shoulders, but that was no reason to sink into this gloomy mood day after day. You were pirates, it had to go on!  
"We can't sit around here getting drunk any longer," you growled and sparkled at him angrily. "Marco! I am talking to you!"  
"And I can hear you _just wonderfully_." He lay in the shade of the setting sun, leaning against the wall of a ruined house with a bottle of rum in his hand. "But I'm trying to ignore you."  
Angrily you snorted and snatched the bottle from him, which he had almost completely emptied.  
"Marco..." You sat down next to him and pulled your legs up to your body, put your chin down on your knees. "I know it's hard..."  
"Don't pretend you know what's going on inside me," he interrupted you harshly. "You're taking a lot out of yourself."  
"Because I'm worried about you," you protested and leaned aside a little as he tried to grab the bottle in your hand. "You've been feeling sorry for yourself for months, instead of avenging them!"  
"We have tried, you can see what has come out of it," Marco rumbled annoyed. One could clearly see that he did not want to talk about the defeat of the retaliation war. Every time you tried to even remotely touch on the subject, he would get angry or just leave you standing. But you didn't want to give up hope either - after all, this was Marco the Phoenix! As former vice of Whitebeards it was his duty to continue the gang and when did Marco ever throw in the towel in defeat?  
"You're getting on my nerves," he finally growled at you and gave up hunting for the bottle. He leaned back, his arms crossed behind his head and watched the sunset. Did he really want to ignore you now? What a childish behavior!  
"If you want these back, you should be a little nicer to me," you replied and took a sip of rum - damn, he drank the very strong liquor! The drink burned in your throat and you frowned in disgust.  
"What else should I fight for, huh?" he asked quietly and you turned to him. With closed eyes he sat there, motionless and thoughtful. "So more of my family can die? We have it pretty good here, believe me."  
"And what are you gonna do on this damn island? Grow pumpkins?" you replied sarcastically and slowly very irritated. Why did he want to hide? Why did he abandon his nakama? That was not his usual way, quite the contrary. Marco had always been there for his friends, no matter what.  
"Maybe," he said to your suggestion with the pumpkins, even if it was only pure defiance. It was like discussing with a teenager, terrible!  
  


"You're a coward," you finally said, had enough of his stubbornness. You stood up and knocked the dirt off your pants, but you gave him a quick look. "I am disappointed in you."  
"Get in line, you're not alone." He sounded not only defiant, but sad as well. Of course he was upset about the events of the past two years, but it was time to get a grip and finally make the seas unsafe again! Whether he wanted to or not, you would not love a coward. As strong as your feelings for Marco were, he wasn't himself and alone he couldn't find his way out of this depression. In the past you rarely had the chance to be there for him, but now you could prove to him how much you really loved him.  
"Come on." You reached out your hand to him and your gaze softened a little. "You know very well I won't stop bitching."  
He opened his eyes, hesitated for a moment and seemed to weigh his options. If he turned you down, you would actually bitch until his ears bled. But if, against all expectations, he should accept your help - then it was time to seriously face the past and look ahead. It would be painful, but there was simply no other way.  
"If you finally stop lecturing me," he grumbled in a rough voice and grabbed your hand so that you could pull him up from the floor. For a moment you stood facing each other and your heart went up. He did not let go of your hand and you did not let go of his either. How you would love to tell him that you loved him! But it was not the right place and not the right time. There were more important things to do.  
"You know, I really do care about you..." you said with embarrassment. You could tell him that much, but not the whole truth. He snorted in amusement and then nodded, squeezing your hand gently  
"I know." he said and when you looked up to him like that you could melt away. How you would like to confess it to him, but it would be wrong to take advantage of his agony. He had been in pain for months, struggling with guilt and loss. It was inappropriate to use the word love now, because he certainly didn't have a mind for that at the moment. But still he held your hand, warm skin that touched your own.  
"I hate it when you kick my ass..." he sighed and rumpled your hair. Laughing, you ducked away, trying to escape the insidious attack.  
"I'd love to do it again!" you replied and for a moment your eyes met. You saw the pain behind it, something that would have been unthinkable two years ago. But you would help him rebuild the Whitebeard Pirates, even if they were scattered all over the place and hunted down by some notable pirates. Marco could trust you, you would always be there for the man you loved. And at some point, when everything had calmed down, you could finally confess it to him.


	44. Cracker - Hold my hand

"It's really spooky here at night," you muttered and hurried so that you wouldn't fall further behind.  
"You've known the forest for years, why the hell are you acting this way?", Cracker growled in front of you, his sword over his shoulder and visibly annoyed by your frightened impulses. Didn't he find the talking plants in the forest on Whole Cake Island scary?  
"During the day it's something completely different," you replied and ran the last few steps, finally catching up with him. "But at night, it's just scary."  
Your way back from the coast to Sweet City was comparatively long and in the dark it seemed much longer. Between you and the city there were still some meadows and hills, it would take forever until you finally got there. That was the burden of a commander, he had to check if something seemed to be a threat. But a lost sea king had not been too difficult a task for Cracker and you wondered why you had accompanied him in the first place. Too bad that as head of the night shift you were the highest authority of the guards. Whether you wanted to or not, you had to accompany Cracker to be able to write it into your report. You were so terribly blind at night, you could hardly see your hand in front of your eyes! And to make things worse, the living trees and flowers sang at night - spooky songs that looked rather cute by day, but at night...  
"Now hurry up," the commander said, and with goose bumps all over your body you hurried after him. His long legs allowed him to move much faster and even though you were quite tall for a human, you couldn't quite keep up.  
"Then don't run like that," you shouted and had to catch up with him again in a hurry. Damn biscuit-head, probably just left you in this creepy forest full of homies in the end!  
"Hello!" A laughing flower jumped out of the ground right in front of you, with a broad grin and sparkling eyes. Startled, you squeaked up and reflexively grabbed for the next object in reach - or in this case, person. You clung to Cracker's arm and tried to calm your pulse. Those damn flowers, those damn homies and that three times damn Cracker!  
"It's just a flower," he teased you. "That you're afraid of flowers, come on..."  
"It's a flower with a face!" you hissed in anger, still hanging on his arm as you continued your walk through the forest. He didn't seem to mind very much as he found your fear very amusing. Such a gloating idiot, you thought to yourself, and yet you really enjoy the physical contact. Cracker may have been a narcissistic idiot, but he also had other sides to him. He protected his siblings with his life when necessary and he had always been nice and attentive to you. That he liked to tease you, you accepted as the typical 'boy likes girl' behavior. For a long time you had suspected that the commander had his eye on you, but he would never admit it!  
"You stumbled over the root of a smiling tree and lost your balance. You almost fell in the dirt in front of you, but an arm wrapped around your waist and saved your face from an unpleasant acquaintance with the ground at the last second.  
"You're clumsy too," Cracker scolded and pulled you back on your feet. Embarrassed, you dodged his gaze and smoothed your top.  
"I am not clumsy," you grumbled insulted, but his hand was still on your hip. A nervous tingling rose up to your neck and your mouth became dry under this touch. "Just a little bit night-blind."  
"Night-blind?" he asked, puzzled.  
"I can't see very well at night," you explained and followed him as he started moving again. Unfortunately, his hand disappeared from your hip and you were angry. Should you dare to cling to his arm again, arguing that the forest was really scary at night? Would he shake you off this time?  
"Don't tell me you need glasses," he turned to you and for a moment you really thought he was joking. Wait, had he seriously never heard of night blindness before?  
"You're kidding me," you muttered irritatedly and stumbled over a smaller root, much to the amusement of crackers. "You know what night blindness is?"  
"I can see perfectly well," he replied and threw a quick glance to your side. "So can my brothers and sisters."  
"Well, I'm not," you growled and groped your foot on the ground before each step to check if the way was clear. "I can't help it..."  
"You really are a pest," Cracker complained loudly and moaned annoyed. You looked up to him - otherwise he wasn't so talkative and above all so overly theatrical. What was wrong with the commander? "Don't tell me you need help walking now, too."  
With big eyes you looked up to him, saw the mischievous sparkle in his eyes when he held out his hand to you. Did he mean it a bit seriously, you should really...?  
"Come on, I want to arrive at the castle today," he urged you and you swallowed against your dry mouth. Nervously you took his hand, expecting that it was all just a joke, but he seemed to mean it. Immediately he interlocked his fingers with yours and pulled you on before you could say anything. He led you silently through the forest, past the roots and stones that would surely have brought you down again. You didn't dare to say a word, just enjoy this tender touch from the commander. Wildly your heart pounded against your ribs and a tingling feeling warmed you from the inside out.  
"I should have taken your hand from the beginning," you finally said softly and he looked over his shoulder. An embarrassed sparkle could be seen in the purple eyes and he cleared his throat evasively.  
"That would certainly have saved us some trouble, yes," he agreed with you, and a giggle you almost couldn't resist. Stubborn cracker, always with his head through the wall and never admitting that he was more than just a ruthless pirate. But you liked him that way and he wouldn't change anyway.  
"Then we already know how to do it next time," you whispered, walking a little closer to him. Your shoulders touched briefly and you gently squeezed his hand, but in return you got an even more embarrassed sideways glance from him. He wouldn't expose himself and show you how nervous he was himself, but you could feel it. Female intuition was a beautiful thing and luckily Cracker was not a book with seven seals like his big brother Katakuri. As much as Cracker tried to hide behind his Biscuit armor, you knew he was actually very nice.  
"It's not far to Sweet City now," you realized in disappointment at the edge of the forest and a sigh escaped you. Then you would have to let go of his hand...  
"Well, we can take our time," you heard him say. "It's night, there's not much going on and... "Taking your time is not a crime...  
"Sounds good", you replied and again you gently squeezed his hand - but this time he returned the gesture and together you strolled the rest of the way, calmly and hand in hand.


	45. Crocodile - Act your age

"Right into the fight, head first, huh?" you turned to the man next to you and pulled the bandage a little tighter so that it couldn't slip. Crocodile growled under your not too gentle way of doctoring him, but he hadn't wanted it any other way! The proud pirate was only too happy to take on the remnants of Whitebeard's fleet, even though they were scattered throughout the New World. To your frustration, however, he was occasionally a bit too arrogant and got himself into trouble, which you were allowed to take the blame for by patching him up.  
Daz - the former Mr. 1 - had said goodbye to both of you yesterday, had gone ahead to explore the coming city and find out if there were any naval bases nearby that you should better avoid. So once again it was up to you, you had to patch up the annoyed Crocodile and teach him as nicely as possible that such misconceptions of his abilities were dangerous. Most of the time it was hard to get some criticism across to the much too proud man without him throwing a tantrum. And yet you had pulled yourself together to accompany him to the New World, even though your last encounter had been several years ago.  
"Too tight," he complained about the tight bandage you wrapped around his upper body.  
"It must be tight, otherwise it will slip right back down again," you replied. "It will loosen by itself, you'll see.”  
Crocodile reached into the inside pocket of his nearby coat and was about to light a cigar when you tore the piece out of his hand in indignation.  
"Hey-," he complained immediately, but you threw the cigar in a high arc over your shoulder and shook your head emphatically.  
"Until ten minutes ago you had a knife stuck between your ribs," you protested angrily.  
"And?"  
"And you're not going to smoke now," you said, but an annoyed look spoke volumes, and he was already reaching for the next cigar, not caring about your nagging. You leaned forward immediately and grabbed his wrist - only to get a cold, warning look from him.  
"No," you said boldly and leaned forward a little more, so that your faces were directly opposite each other. "At least let me doctor the rest of you first, you're behaving like a stubborn child!"  
"Which one of us is the child here when you throw my cigars around," he replied briefly tied up, and a deep growl shook his chest, so that a pleasant shiver ran down your neck and made your skin tingle. You still held his arm with your hand, supported yourself on his leg with the second - after all, he was much taller than you and restricting his movements meant that you almost had to climb on top of him. A very daring pose, quite impudent of you to come so close to him and yet he didn't push you off him rudely, no. Quite the opposite: Crocodile came a few millimeters closer to your face and dark eyes looked at you calculatingly. Your gaze went over his face for a split second, the scar that was part of his image as well as the golden hook. If you thought about it carefully, he was a pretty arrogant show-off - then why did your knees became as soft as rubber in this position?  
You cleared your throat embarrassed and pulled yourself back again. You let go of his wrist and sat down again on the floor next to him, swallowing heavily against your dry mouth. You had always controlled yourself in his presence until now, because even though he was a few years older than you, this man was handsome! He was always careful to be well dressed, almost a bit posh, and his condescending manner could be mistaken for simple arrogance. But all his faults did not mean that he was unsightly, not at all! Too often you would catch yourself staring at him when he wasn't looking, looking at the collar of his shirt and the raw muscles that were hidden underneath. The black hair and the almost lascivious grin, always present and so damn tempting!  
"You really should behave more in accordance with your age," you scolded him, trying to cover up your embarrassment.  
"Pah, you’re the one to talk!" he immediately replied heatedly, but he wasn't as upset and indignant as he pretended to be. Well-behaved, he let you take his right arm and wrap a bandage around it, kept still and did not complain about your rough treatment. But he didn't want to look you in the eye and you wondered for a moment whether you had ever experienced Crocodile embarrassed before.  
"You're not 20 anymore," you said softly and stroked over the finished bandage on his forearm, keeping your fingers on the lines - but then continued on to his hand and looked at the skin affected by cuts. "You can't go into battle upside down anymore, so don't be so reckless."  
"Are you trying to say that I am old," he rumbled angrily, watching your hand as you stroked over the small wounds and sighed slightly, a little lost in thought.  
"No," you laughed and finally looked up at him, a smile at the corners of your mouth and a warm glint in your eyes. "But you should at least be a little more careful when fighting. Be a little more restrained, more judgmental and more of a strategist than a bully.”  
Your second hand enclosed his as well and you leaned forward a bit, bridged the small distance between you. Your lips touched his just for a moment and you felt an instant tension build up in his muscles, he was surprised by the kiss and didn't know how to react. Before he could do anything, you leaned back, stood up and stroked a single stray strand of his black hair back into place and sighed slightly.  
"Just be a little more careful." You turned away to put the bandages back in place, leaving Crocodile sitting on the floor speechless. He stroked his hair back and followed the movement of your hand, which a few seconds ago had confirmed what had happened.  
You had kissed him - why had you kissed him? Confused, he pulled his brows together and looked at you, opened his mouth to say something to you, but no words came out of his lips. He stood up, jerked briefly under his injuries and still quickly opened up to you, grabbed you by the shoulder and turned you around. With big eyes you looked at him, you really didn't expect him to run after you!  
"What was that supposed to be?" he asked harshly.  
"A kiss," you replied as calmly as possible, but you felt your cheeks getting a little warmer. Just don't blush now!  
"I know that," he replied immediately, the voice full of impatience and a little upset. "But why?"  
You shrugged your shoulders and looked evasively to the side. Yes, why?  
"It just felt right at that moment," you replied truthfully, watching his shoulders slump a little, as if he couldn't believe that was your serious answer.  
"You're behaving like a damn teenager," he finally said and crossed his arms in front of his chest. But all that elicited from you was a mocking laugh - it was easy for him to talk, he was completely upset over a little kiss!  
"If you think so," you whispered and pushed yourself past him, playfully driving your hand over his upper arm up to his shoulder. Under your touch, his muscles tensed again instantly, he swallowed and watched suspiciously as you gave him a meaningful look over his shoulder. "Then I will probably formulate my intentions a little more clearly in the future."  
Dark eyes watched you for a moment, then he tightened his shoulders and nodded.  
"There you go," he said emphatically, more or less skillfully overplaying his embarrassment with his arrogance. "Then you will finally behave like a grown woman." 


	46. Zoro - Streets

Elegantly you meandered through the masses, following every movement of the people on Mangrove 46. It was a well frequented route for tourists, from top to bottom the narrow passages and streets were equipped with stores - most expensive clothes, good food and noble restaurants attracted visitors from near and far, it was a real goldmine!  
With deft fingers you reached into the coat pocket of a rich looking older man and pulled out his wallet, which also immediately disappeared in your own pocket. As stuck-up as the man looked, he would not miss the money...  
"Again?" A strong hand grabbed your own wrist and you groaned in annoyance. You looked up and saw the shaggy, green hair as well as the distinctive scar on your eye.  
"It's you," you muttered and rolled your eyes. "Don't tell me you're blackmailing me again!"  
Zoro looked around briefly and dragged you into an alley with him, since your scuffle attracted enough attention to attract the navy in the end. Whether you wanted to or not, he was stronger than you and you couldn't snatch yourself away from his firm grip, so you let him drag you into the small alley.   
"Either you share with me or I turn you in," he demanded. "This is the third time!"  
"What kind of a guy are you anyway, eh?!", you replied heatedly. "You make my life as a thief difficult and then you ask for a share!"  
"What are you so stupid as to let yourself be caught stealing!" he poisoned back, no less angry and you broke away from him, gleaming at him with a defiant look.  
"You sneak after me just to cheat me out of my money so you can afford to drink! Get a job!"  
With an angry snort you turned away and fished the captured wallet out of your pocket. Zoro, however, seemed frustrated by the lack of alcohol, but what did you care?  
About a week ago you had met the hotheaded swordsman on the Sabaody Archipelago and he had noticed you too - because you had been rooting around in his belly bandages with one hand, looking for valuables. Nobody else noticed you when you were doing your job, but the green-haired pirate seemed to have felt your presence. He almost made you a head shorter, and then he really did cut off all your loot for the day as an excuse. He was far from being a monster, but he seemed unable to control his desire for a decent booze-up. Since then, he was always to be found in the streets, always kept an eye on you and tried to get some money from you to pass the time.  
"Get a job," you repeated in anger as he leaned over your shoulder and reached for a few bills in his wallet. You stretched out your arm to get your loot out of his reach and braced yourself against his chest with your shoulder.  
"I'm not going to be here much longer, what good is a job for me?" he protested and leaned even further forward to take some money from you. "Besides, you are a thief! You stole the money, so I might as well just take it."  
"Nothing there," you growled and put a hand to his face to push him away from you for good, to your own disappointment. He was a good-looking man, breathtakingly handsome - but unfortunately also a total idiot. As strong as the young pirate may have been, he was really no lightning bolt in some things!  
"I might share my booty with you," you whispered and gave him a challenging look. "For something in return."  
Zoro looked at you for a moment, you could almost see how his brain worked and he tried to figure out what you wanted from him.  
"Buy your own liquor," he finally said, and you slapped your hand against your forehead, incredulous about his quirk of thinking no more than two sentences in advance.  
"What nonsense, I don't want any alcohol," you replied immediately and felt your ears blush a little. Otherwise you had no problems telling men what you wanted from them, but the handsome swordsman really made your knees go soft! "I want something else from you."  
Suspiciously his eyes narrowed a bit - he seemed to judge whether it was just a small favor or something bigger, something important.  
"Here, take it." You held the entire contents of the wallet under his nose and stubbornly looked in the opposite direction. It hurt you that you had to give up your loot, but what a thing to do for a little peace and quiet at work! "And for that, you will leave my livelihood in the future."  
Zoro glanced at the money for a moment, but then he took it boldly, shrugged his shoulders.  
"I don't mind," he agreed. "Always those thieving wenches! I've seen them before, you're all the same..."  
"No one is like me," you replied with a mischievous smile. "And one more thing, Roronoa Zoro."  
Surprised, he glanced at you, but stopped his steps when he wanted to leave you alone. I guess he didn't expect you to know exactly who he was. As I said before, he wasn't too bright about some things. A young swordsman with three swords and green hair, that could only be the former pirate hunter Roronoa Zoro! Apart from the fact that you knew his profile...  
"What else?" he asked with a clear tone of impatience in his voice. Under your beating heart you gathered all your courage and took a step forward, stood on your toes and pressed a short but very firm kiss on his lips. In an instant, Zoro flinched, but you left him no opportunity to escape. Your hands were buried in the fabric of his coat and you pressed yourself against him, stealing another kiss from his lips. He barely reacted to your insidious attack, but with the second kiss he did not retreat again.  
"That's all I wanted," you said quietly as you took a step back and barely dared to look him in the eye. "I have to admit, I only dared to because I don't think we'll ever see each other again."  
He didn't answer you, but just looked down at you and watched you take off to disappear into the shadows of the side street. Another quick glance over his shoulder and he silently replied, knowing that you were right. Very soon he would see his crew again after two long years and they would set sail, to the New World and to the end of the Grand Line. It was very unlikely that you would ever meet again.  
"And stay away from my streets," you said goodbye to him with a playful smile. It was almost too bad that you hadn't been able to find out whether he would have taken you up on the third kiss, but it was just as well as it was. The handsome swordsman didn't seem to be a man for flirtations, he probably only had his swords in his head. But that's the way you were, never would you say goodbye to the thrill of your craft just to please a man. But with the best will in the world, you didn't find any objections to this nice acquaintance with Roronoa Zoro, even if it had only been of short duration.


	47. Killer - Out cold

"How can a single guy be so heavy?!" you groaned under the weight on your shoulders and Heat almost slipped off your back, but you pulled him up a bit with an exhausted groan. You dragged your unconscious Nakama further through the underbrush of the forest, closely followed by Killer. Actually it had been a simple thing: A small squad of Kid's crew was supposed to loot the island and the naval base located there - but so much had gone wrong! In the end, Killer was able to save the situation, but Heat had a gunshot wound in his chest and needed a doctor as soon as possible. Of the five-man squad, only you and Killer had escaped with minor injuries, so it was up to you to bring the three wounded back to the ship.  
"You only have to carry at least one," growled the blond man behind you, and with his muscular stature it was not very difficult to carry the other two men. You gave him a quick glance over his shoulder, but again Heat slipped off your back and you had to stop, grab the unconscious man again and somehow get him to the dinghy on the coast.  
"Heat really should be on a diet," you muttered and laid his unconscious body on the ground, ran your hand over his chest to the wound. It was a clean through and even though no vital organs seemed to be injured - he was still bleeding very badly. "Hang in there, buddy, you're almost there."  
"It's not far now," Killer tried to get you to keep going. You didn't want to look weak in front of him, so you gathered all your strength and dragged Heat to the coast.

Kid was not enthusiastic, to say at least.   
He immediately sent the injured below deck and demanded to know what had happened at the base. During your adventure with Killer, Kid himself had sunk three nearby Navy ships and seemed to have a lot of fun doing it. If he and the rest of the crew were able to take apart three ships, how is it that a party of five could not have raided the base alone?  
"It was just bad luck, Captain," you tried to explain your failure, but a warning look silenced you and he turned to his vice.  
"Why did you screw up," the redhead asked irritably, and Killer crossed his arms, shrugged his shoulders carelessly.  
"Like she said, it was just bad luck. We ran in four patrols, the pantry and armory were almost empty, since the next supply ship probably won't come for a few days. Heat didn't pay attention for a second and got hit."  
Kid shook his head, ran his hand over his face in annoyance and then nodded at you.  
"Go on, get below deck and see how Heat is doing. Killer, you come with me." You nodded and looked after them, but then you grabbed your shoulders and went below deck.  
Heat was still unconscious, but had been patched up by the ship's doctor. Said doctor was not in sight and you sat down on the chair next to the bed, your arms crossed behind your head and thoughtfully. Hopefully Heat would get better soon. That he was injured to protect you is something Killer had kept from the captain. Why? Did he want to save you from Kid's uncontrollable temper? The Kid was no monster towards his crew. Of course, his irritability and outbursts of rage were notorious, but in conflicts within the crew he proved to be a very good and fair captain. Heat's injury was your fault, you should confess this to the Kid as soon as possible - otherwise you would never be able to sleep peacefully again.  
"How is he?" You looked up from the ground, completely lost in thought and brooding. Killer stood behind you, leaning over you a little, so that the blond mane almost tickled your face. You liked the fact that he was so tall and it wasn't the first time that butterflies appeared in your stomach. He was usually very calm, but even Killer could be a wild, unpredictable pirate, just like your captain. But you had to stress that Killer was a much better listener than Kid.  
"He is doctored. I think he'll be unconscious for a while yet," you answered the blond man, pulling his knees to his body, you were a little pile of misery on the old creaking wooden chair. "It's my fault. Why didn't you tell the captain?"  
Killer hesitated and sighed just behind his mask, sat down on the end of the bed and took a look at the unconscious Heat.  
"You should have been more careful," he scolded you gently and you nodded, leaning your forehead against your knees. "And you feel pretty shitty about it, huh?"  
A silent nod from you in response.  
"Good." You looked up in irritation and stared at his mask with an indignant look. Good? So he thought it was funny that you felt so bad about it?! The blond vice just shrugged and leaned forward a little. "Memorize this feeling well, then you'll never make such a stupid mistake again."  
"Great lesson, thanks," you growled annoyed and Killer laughed at your frustration with his rough, deep voice. Tears, driven by feelings of guilt, gathered in your eyes and you winked violently to drive them away. When you dragged Heat across the island, you joked about how heavy he was. Your shirt was still soaked with his blood and slowly it came through to you that he was really badly hurt. And it was all your fault!  
"You really have a lot to learn." Killer got up and wanted to leave the hospital room but stopped next to you and stroked your head with his hand. With big eyes you looked up at him, felt his fingers slipping through the strands of your hair, finding their way across your cheek to your chin. He lifted it gently and you could swear he was smiling behind the mask. You followed the mute request of his hand on your chin and rose, groping one step towards him. Never before had your heart beaten so loud and you wondered if this was a joke. He had never touched you in such a way before - sure, there were physical confrontations within the crew now and then, but never had Killer touched you so gently. Did he really mean it? Had he noticed that you were in love with him? Hopefully not, the whole crew would tease you for the rest of your life!  
A faint sob shook your chest and you immediately looked away ashamed. Pirates didn't cry and now you were standing here, bawling to the vice president! Killer sighed slightly and wiped a small tear from the corner of your eye, shaking your head.  
"Crybaby," he pulled you up and you gave him a playful slap on the shoulder, whereupon he pulled you into an embrace. Your heart almost stopped when you collided with his chest, and your gentle laughter instantly stopped, giving way to a feeling of burning embarrassment. Even before you could stammer a few words he wrapped his arm around your neck and pushed you down, took you into a headlock.  
"Your pretty face can't save you from the Captain's wrath," he said and you squealed, trying to free yourself from his tight grip - but Killer was far too strong. "You will scrub the ship from top to bottom. Captain's orders."  
"But Killer, I-"  
"No buts!"


	48. Hawkins - Place of god

"This was once a temple. A sacred place." Your comment was ignored and the rest of the crew continued to plunder the ruins. Sighing, you crossed your arms in front of your chest, knowing that it was no use. Your Nakama were often only concerned with plundering, even though this was a sacred place. "Come on, Captain. Say something about it!"  
Hawkins looked down at you for a moment, but then continued to watch the hustle and bustle of his men and shrugged his shoulders.  
"That'll keep them happy. We are pirates, we plunder," he replied, with his usual cool manner toward you. "Or do you see it differently?"  
"A little, yes," you muttered, no less cool. "Basil-"  
"Captain," he corrected you immediately and his red eyes watched you warningly. With a growl you pulled the corners of your mouth down, nodding in agreement. Outside his cabin he was Captain Hawkins, leader of the Hawkins Pirates - and not the man who melted under your fingers as if he was made of wax. Such things were better left behind closed doors.  
"Captain, of course," you relented. "To return to the point: I know we're here to loot and really, it's a lot of fun - but this is a temple. Shouldn't we show a little respect?"  
Now the blonde pirate finally turned all the way to you and you saw the slightly annoyed twitching around the corners of his mouth. Your shoulders slumped a little and he shook his head over your moral spine. Criminals like you had no right to invoke a moral code. Even holy ruins like this one were robbed, the treasures of the burial chambers looted, and everything that shone was packed away.  
"Don't pretend that you really care. You're as much a pirate as anyone else here," Hawkins finally replied, ending the discussion for good. You admitted defeat and fell silent, even though a biting answer was still on the tip of your tongue.  
"Aye, captain...," you rumbled instead.

By evening, the shiny goods had been loaded onto the ship, most of the crew had gone to dinner, and only a few Hawkins pirates had remained in the ruins. Next to you sat Faust, the gang's cat-mink, and his ears twitched slightly in the late summer evening breeze.  
"I don't think it's right that we did this," you murmured to your knees. With your legs drawn to your body, you sat on a wall, your arms wrapped around you. Resentfully, you muttered quiet curses, but Faust laughed only with a soft purr.  
"What did you think we were going to do, just drop everything just because this used to be a temple?" he asked you, "Your conscience in all honor, but that's what we do. Robbing, plundering, stealing... pirate's workaday life, if you will."  
"I know that," you muttered and waved impatiently. "B-captain Hawkins told me that, too."  
Faust's ears twitched in irritation when you almost called the captain by his first name. His eyes narrowed a bit and you stared at the tuft of grass at the foot of the wall - luckily he let it go and changed the subject.  
"Ah, speak of the devil." You looked up and Hawkins came towards you, strolled through the high grass and looked after a stray bat. "The sign to say goodbye."  
Faust winked at you knowingly, greeted his captain with a respectful nod and walked back to the ship to join the rest of the crew. The Cat Mink was very secretive, but his innuendos made your stomach rumble restlessly anyway.

The blond pirate stopped just before the wall and his gaze wandered from the moon to you, seeming a little dreamy and distracted.  
"I've been looking for you," he said softly and took another step closer so that you were within reach and he could stroke a stray strand behind your ear. Such a loving touch, you thought longingly. As if he had never killed anyone or burned villages.  
With a jerk he pulled you from the wall, so that you landed in his arms with a startled sound and he immediately bent down to you.  
"Basil, what if-"  
"That's not gonna happen," he interrupted you impatiently. "They'll all eat and get drunk afterwards. We have all the time in the world."  
It was a very tempting offer when the great captain of the Hawkins pirates practically threw himself at you. The blond, long hair fell over his shoulders and tickled your face as he bent down to you. He ran one hand over your neck, up into your hair, and pulled you close. But you were still angry that he had so coldly rejected your objections today. He should feel that!  
Elegantly you turned from his grip, shivering briefly under the fresh night air. Surprised, the red eyes widened a little - you had never done anything like that before.  
"What's wrong," he asked immediately and you heard the slight tinge of disappointment and impatience in his voice. "Is it too cold for you out here?"  
"Not that, no," you replied, folding your arms behind your back, stretching your chest out. You wanted to face him as confidently as possible, this time not giving in. Of course he was your captain and had the final say, but in your togetherness there was a say for you, too.  
He seemed to think for a moment what could be wrong with you, then he seemed to understand and twisted his eyes annoyed. For a brief moment a wave of affection rolled over you, for he only allowed such an open display of his feelings in your presence. But as much as you were flattered by this, there was an important point at stake here.  
Focus!  
"It's about this afternoon's business, right?" he asked and shook his head slightly, seriously annoyed at your stubborn head. "You're still harping on that?"  
"Admit that my argument was not entirely wrong - otherwise I won't be riding on anything for a while," you could, and pulled your brows promisingly upwards. Hawkins stared at you for a second and wondered if you were serious about your threat. Then a snorting sound escaped him, a laugh that he tried to avoid with all means.  
He took a step forward and grabbed your hand, pulled me so close to him and put his arm around your waist. The red eyes looked at you with amusement and your bluff seemed to work.  
"I understand that certain things are important to you. Moral conflicts are part of our lives," he said and pressed a kiss on your forehead, even though you looked at him as angrily as possible. "I don't feel comfortable robbing a place of God either. But I am the captain and sometimes I have to decide according to what the crew wants me to do."  
"Otherwise there will be a mutiny one day," you mumbled insightfully and sighed slightly. Damn, this view of the situation had probably slipped your mind. You could see life on the ship through the eyes of a crew member, not a captain. Were you wrong in the end? Were you really so short-sighted just because you wanted to be right?  
"This temple is beautiful," Hawkins continued, looking up at the ruins that towered above you both to the night sky. "It must have been much, much more beautiful then."  
You hummed approvingly and leaned your forehead against his chest, a little ashamed of your one-sided opinion in this matter.  
"I behaved like a petulant child," you muttered into the fabric of his shirt.  
"Yes, that's true," he agreed, but with a gentle undertone in his voice. Another snort shook his body and you looked up at him annoyed. The red eyes lay on you and sparkled in amusement.  
"What?", you asked and already guessed what amused him so much.  
"Sexual withdrawal?", he asked in a choked voice. "Seriously?"  
"You don't seem to listen to anything else," you tried to defend yourself, but your protest was smothered in a kiss. Your heart jumped excitedly and you closed your eyes, enjoying his touch with a soft sigh. It was only in your presence that he was so relaxed and easygoing, daring to show any feelings at all. It honored you that he seemed to feel so comfortable around you. In return, you didn't necessarily insist on your opinion and bow to the will of your captain - even if things went differently behind closed doors.


	49. Akainu - Innocence

With a strong jerk you pulled the bandage tighter and the man in front of you hardly twitched noticeably. You politely ignored the quiet groan.  
You respected Akainu's pride too much to make fun of his injuries. Your other patients all too often received cheeky remarks and sarcastic remarks, they had to live with that. But you did not always dare to be so insolent towards an admiral. Especially not after a day like this.  
The great battle of Marineford was over. The navy had supposedly won, but you tasted the bitter defeat on your tongue. So many soldiers had died, injured or would never again spend a night without nightmares. Was it really a victory when so many lives were extinguished? Not to mention the pirates, whose injuries were cared for - so that they could then be shipped to Impel Down.  
A touch of insecurity came over you. You were loyal to the Navy, stationed at headquarters as a doctor for years. But still, that day, for the first time, you had doubts. So many dead, so much blood and suffering. Was it really worth it?  
"You're not focused." Akainu looked at you with a penetrating look, so you waved away embarrassed and went back to his care with full concentration. You had secured his broken ribs with a tight bandage so that they could not take any more damage. You would normally prescribe bed rest to a soldier with such injuries, but it was Akainu. He did not stick to it anyway!  
"A concussion," you muttered softly as you attentively cleaned the laceration on his forehead. "You took a pretty good blow from Whitebeard. It's impossible you haven't got one."  
"Get on with it," he snarled at you, but you haven't let that frighten you for years. He was so conscientious and full of energy, he still wanted to chase the Whitebeard pirates. He'd been that way ever since you met him.  
"You're not getting your ass out of here until I'm done," you replied succinctly. He gave a deep growl, impatient and angry, but sat well. He could be admiral as he wanted, you were his doctor at that moment. You were in charge!  
"Then at least hurry up. You can hear what's going on out there." Silently you rolled your eyes, but listened to the sounds in the rubble. It was a mixture of screaming, cries for help and the noise of the destroyed Marineford. Pieces of the masonry were still breaking off, landing with a terrible roar in the remains of the battlefield, leaving clouds of dust swirling dust through the open window into your treatment room. You were secretly glad that you didn't have to rescue the injured and dead on the battlefield. The cries of pain in the distance were enough to make your stomach hurt. So much death in just one day. Was that even human anymore?  
"You have too much compassion," Akainu tore you from your thoughts again, but his voice had lost a little of its sharpness. He knew exactly how you ticked.  
You'd known each other for 15 years, and at first you didn't get along at all. This narrow-minded, morbidly ambitious man went against your grain, even then. He still had many bad habits and his conception of justice was sometimes too extremist for you - and yet he had saved your head several times. In his time as Vice Admiral you were the ship's doctor, it was a constant string of arguments and quarrels with him. Your compassion had always been boundless, a quality that speaks for a good doctor - but in battles it can be fatal. It had taken him a very long time to stop classifying this strength as weakness.  
"You've been telling me that for years." A little energetically you rubbed the blood from his face, until he finally growled with a warning growl and distorted his expression. "Don't be such a baby, you big baby!"  
"Don't push me too far," you got a serious warning, but why did you care? What was he gonna do, burn a hole in your stomach, too?  
"You were too rough today," you muttered, avoiding his gaze. Your heart ached terribly at the thought of the agony that Firefist Ace had suffered. To die like that, with burnt organs - that must have been just terrible. "Sakaz-"  
"They're pirates," he said sharply. "Outlaws. Criminals. Criminals."  
"And yet they're human beings," you threw in an angry voice. "They have feelings and feel pain!"  
"Don't make them think you're innocent!" he rumbled and jumped up, grabbing your wrist. "They are murderers. Thieves. They kill families just to enrich themselves. They're not innocent."  
"Are you?!" you hissed softly, but no less angrily. You saw the hesitation on his face: "Sakazuki, you would kill any pirate without even blinking an eyelid! You will never be able to wash the blood of so many people off your hands!"  
"You should choose your words very carefully." He came a step closer, but the grip on your wrist loosened slightly. "Your compassion is with all honor, but you are in the service of the Navy. "So am I. We both do our duty by catching and killing pirates. ...by taking care of wounded soldiers."  
"I know, I know." He was right, but he was wrong again. Not all pirates were evil at heart, but not many who did good. Your shoulders slumped a little. You just didn't have the strength for a fight that day. "I know that..."  
"You mustn't take this the wrong way." His hand went up your arm and down your neck. Akainu gave you a short kiss on the forehead and in the dark eyes you saw the loving sparkle that only you could see. "I married you for your compassionate nature. But empathy is not always the right way."  
"But neither is violence," you replied and enjoyed his touch. "Now go, they surely need you. You are provided for. But please do not move too much, your ribs have been badly damaged."  
"Yes, doctor." After a quick kiss on your lips, he took his red jacket, his cap and left your office.  
Worried, you leaned against the wall behind you, crossed your arms in front of your chest and sighed heavily. The higher he rose in the ranks of the Navy, the more fanatical your husband became. How far did he have to go before he understood? No matter how brutally he took action against the pirates, it was useless - on the contrary. The brutality of the Navy only incited the privateers to go as wild as possible.  
Thoughtfully, you looked out the window and watched the first cleanup efforts in the courtyard of the fortress. Maybe you had to have a word with Sengoku.  
Your husband would not like that.


	50. Smoker - Appetite

The kitchen looked like a battlefield. Someone should say again that cooking was a small thing! All around you there was sighing and relieved chattering, now that the worst was over again. So many hungry soldiers, day after day. From morning till evening. Every cursed day. But you had chosen this.  
"Boss, we are ready. The last stragglers are still eating, then we'll clean up," Pierre, your sous-chef, had appeared next to you. In his hand he held a glass of whiskey - a bad habit of his. A drink after work, he always said. But the work wasn't even done yet, the preparation for breakfast was just beginning.   
"All right," you agreed with him, though. "At 10:00 p.m., I want the preparations for tomorrow morning to begin. The night shift is supposed to be there at 9:30 p.m., not again just before!  
"Aye, boss." Pierre was just about to leave when he paused briefly and nodded to the serving counter. "By the way, it's already gone back a bit."  
With an annoyed groan, you turned around. The half-full plate stared at you from the counter, mocked you to the core.  
You were an excellent cook, it had to be said. For years, the Navy Headquarters had been your place of work, and from a simple cook you had finally worked your way up to Chef de Cuisine. The whole kitchen listened to your command and it always went smoothly, everyone worked hand in hand. The meals were served on time and every soldier had had enough to eat.  
Even the vice admirals came to the canteen for your food, and they liked to scare the new recruits with it. When you were in the headquarters, the vice admirals would sit down for dinner and chat, exchange ideas about all the new events on the Grand Line. Often you would come out of the kitchen and go into the hall, ask them if it tasted good and if they needed anything else. The vice-presidents should feel like in a fine restaurant, because after all they gave their lives for the Navy. For that you gladly took the trouble to warm the special tea for Momonga, prepare lemon pudding for Maynard and get expensive pastries for Tsuru.  
But for a week now, half a portion of food has been coming back every evening. After that, you went into the hall angry every time and let your eyes wander over the soldiers. If someone had a problem with your food, they should tell you to your face!  
"Damn it... Did you see who that was?", you asked Pierre as you stared angrily at the uneaten food.  
"Yes, I did," Pierre replied and emptied the glass in his hand with a strong tug. "One of the vice-presidents."  
"One of the- What?!", you hissed angrily. "The vice-presidents should all be able to finish their plates!"  
You went to the door and looked through the built-in window, glancing over to the vice president's regular place. They were all still sitting there, chatting, and seemed to have forgotten the time a little. It was your chance to finally confront the culprit!

"Good evening, Mr. Vice." You stood up in front of the remaining vice-presidents with a dangerously sweet smile on your lips. Strawberry and Momonga immediately understood what was going on, Onigumo also cleared his throat as you approached the table. They knew you long enough and knew what was coming.  
"What a rare pleasure to see so many of you here, in my dining room," you continued your greeting, looking through the now familiar faces. "Smoker, Tashigi! I am very happy that you are back at headquarters again."  
The two nodded at you and Tashigi gave you a short compliment on tonight's dinner, which you acknowledged with a short 'Thank you'. Slowly it became clear to everyone that your visit at the table of the Vice was not out of pure politeness.  
"You know, I am really grateful that you all sacrifice yourselves so much for us simple citizens," you said, leaning forward a little, leaning your hands on the table. Your smile grew a little wider. "So I always like to take the trouble to spend 14 hours a day in the kitchen, making sure you get something decent to eat. After all, you don't necessarily have the most balanced diet at sea."  
"Your food is always delicious," Doberman interjected reassuringly. "We always appreciate your efforts."  
You sighed and nodded, because he wasn't lying. You often received compliments for your excellent cooking, but it was still a thorn in your side - to let food simply go back, what was that about? The person could at least look you in the face and say that he didn't like it!  
"Then act like it. The person who constantly lets his food go back should get his ass in the kitchen in one hour! Throwing food away just because it doesn't taste good... Then I'll cook something for them as they wish," you ended your annoyed speech and turned away, strutting back into your kitchen with your head held high.  
Your heart was beating wildly after you had made such a clear announcement to the vice admirals. Rarely have you been so disrespectful and squashed them together, after all, they were among the heroes of the Navy! But now and then you had to put your foot down, at the risk of getting into trouble yourself.

A good hour later you were sitting in the spick and span kitchen, a cup of coffee in front of you, and it had become quiet in the headquarters. No more training, the soldiers spent their free time playing cards and talking. With one glance outside, you saw Maynard and Bastille, who were once again arguing on the pier about the distribution of supplies. Strawberry intervened, but couldn't do much about the two squabblers.  
With a smile you sipped your coffee and sighed, your mind already calmed and appeased. The vices were your favorite hungry mouths to feed. They were all unique and a little crazy, but that's what you liked about them.  
The door to the kitchen opened and to your surprise it was not Dalmatian or Cancer, but Smoker himself.  
"Ts, I wouldn't have expected that from you," you growled in annoyance. The daredevil vice president blew the smoke of his cigars through your kitchen - a fact that you very much disliked. "Put out those cigars, or you'll be thrown out of my kitchen on your head!"  
He hesitated for a moment, but then shook his head and threw the cigars carelessly out of the open window. Hopefully no one was standing under the window, you thought with a hint of a grin.  
"You don't like my food," you turned to him and narrowed your eyes a little. He should feel your anger!  
"Your food tastes excellent," Smoker replied, and moved a little closer to you. "I would eat four or five plates of it if I could. There is no lack of appetite."  
"Then why do you let it go back to me personally?" you asked with a rumbling undertone in your voice. What was that nonsense about?  
Smoker sighed heavily and his shoulders dropped a little, as if he had to overcome himself to get an answer. Was he perhaps allergic to something? Did he just not want to say it in front of all the other vice-presidents?  
"If I let it go back, you come out and see who it was," he finally replied, reaching for two cigars on his jacket - only to be reminded that you had banned smoking in the kitchen. "You usually hide yourself in here most of the time."  
"I'm not hiding, I'm busy! Work to do," you replied immediately, but his words only now reached you. He did that just to see you?  
"Is that all settled," Smoker asked coolly and seemed to want to get away as quickly as possible. You frowned slightly and thought you could detect a hint of nervousness in him. He wouldn't show it openly in life, but you were beginning to get the hang of all the runners up. You could all do as hard as you wanted, especially Smoker was actually a very nice and sociable contemporary and, who would have guessed it: a great conversationalist.  
With your foot you pushed the bar stool next to you back a bit and nodded invitingly.  
"Coffee?", you only asked and your heart vibrated excitedly in your chest. Had you really just invited vice admiral Smoker for coffee? Oh, no, how absolutely stupid, there's no way he would ever--  
"Why not?" He let himself fall on the bar stool next to you, put his sunglasses on the counter and let you open and close your mouth in amazement.  
"That's better than you letting my good food go back," you muttered and got up to put on some more coffee. "What a stupid thing to do, really..."  
Out of the corner of your eye you saw Smoker, embarrassed, brushing a strand of gray hair from his face and pretending not to have heard your comment.  
"By the way, coffee reduces your appetite, maybe you should drink a little less of it after all. Then you'll eat up in the future," you said teasingly when you gave him a cup of the steaming drink. He snorted amusedly and leaned slightly against the counter. It took a moment before he answered, with a sparkle in his otherwise cool eyes.  
"I don't think my appetite can be so easily curbed."


	51. Marco - Detached

"You all right?"  
You looked up at Marco, who leaned against the railing next to you and looked at you urgently. Could you call it demanding? He seemed constantly annoyed, so it was hard to tell.  
"It's okay," you waved and supported your chin with your hand. It was a slow day, tough as chewing gum and nothing happened on Moby Dick. Such days were bad for you, living for adventure and struggle.  
"Have the cannons all been serviced?" asked Marco, arms crossed in front of his chest, thinking about how he could keep you occupied.  
"Everything is tip-top," you replied and sighed. "Cannons are serviced and clean, the anchor chains fit perfectly and the rigging would win a blue ribbon.  
Impressed, Marco swayed his head and slowly ran out of ideas. Who would have thought that it could be so boring on a pirate ship?  
"Do you know the feeling when you lose touch with reality? As if you no longer belong to life?" Surprised Marco looked over to you, he had really not expected that. Where did that suddenly come from? He had never heard such moods from you - otherwise you were always so grounded, a rock in the team's surf.  
"If you don't know what to do with yourself, then help out in the galley," he said, but knew immediately that it was the wrong answer. You looked aside in shame, then shook your head and stretched out extensively.  
"Never mind, just forget it." You wanted to turn away, but the vice-president immediately grabbed your wrist and made you stand like this.  
"Sorry, I thought-" he started, but you shook your head more violently now and tried to pull away from him.  
"Please just forget it," you said emphatically, wanting to end this unpleasant conversation as quickly as possible. But the ship's doctor wouldn't let that happen, he knew only too well how quickly such a mood could get out of control.  
"Come on," he tried to persuade you. "Let's get a drink and talk it over."  
You hesitated, but then nodded gently. Maybe it would really do you good to talk to Marco about it.

"Since when are you in such a mood?", the blond asked you and sipped his Coke. You stared into your lemonade, had thought of something with more alcohol when you said 'drinking'. It was afternoon, so why the hell were you thinking of booze? Maybe because your feelings for Marco would justify getting drunk together all too well.  
"It's been several weeks," you admitted and sipped the drink. The chef's lemonade was really good, you had to give him credit for that. "It started when Ace went after Blackbeard, you know."  
"Oh, I see." Marco nodded and sighed, watching thoughtfully the goings-on down on the deck.  
Together you had sat down on one of the three masts of Moby Dick, the only place on the ship with a little privacy. You dangled your legs, listened to the creaking of the ropes that held under the weight of the wind. It was a beautiful day, so why were you feeling so down?  
"You know, it's like carrying weights on my body," you explained your situation as clearly as possible. "Even in the morning when I get up."  
Marco got a little sad when he heard that. Many from the team had already visited him, were traumatized and mourned for Thatch. It was terrible what was done to him and then Ace ran after Blackbeard, it was a pure catastrophe. It affected everyone, not just you. But Marco knew you well enough to know that you were much more sensitive than you admitted. He liked that about you.  
"I see what you mean." He tried to intercept you, to make you feel you weren't alone. Of course you weren't alone either, you had a huge team behind you to back you up! But Marco had to be very careful what he said, because at that moment he was the ship's doctor - not the infatuated vice-president who would love to spend the whole day with you. He liked it best when you softly scolded him while tying the rigging. You were so cute when you were angry!  
"It is not unusual to feel depressed after all the bad things," he continued. Immediately you wanted to talk him into it, tell him that you weren't depressed - but he cut you off with a shake of his head. "These things can pass, but you really have to take care of yourself."  
"I already do..." you murmured softly and sipped your lemonade. "I eat as healthily as possible and perform my duties in an exemplary manner."  
"You know very well that's not what I mean," said Marco and sighed slightly in the face of your stubbornness. "You should talk to people. About how you feel and how you deal with all this stuff. Honestly, you need to get your teeth apart!"  
"But I'm talking to you!" You snorted angrily, pretending that he had insulted you personally. But you were just uncomfortable talking about your feelings with people. That was totally embarrassing!  
"You only talk to me if I force you to," Marco threw in and he was right, to your shame. You were much too nervous around him to talk to him about such things! How did he imagine that?!  
"Come on Marco, as if you would exchange about every little ailment...", you tried to defuse the situation. Slowly it became really embarrassing for you - you didn't want him to think you were a wimp.  
"I'm telling you quite a lot," he countered and nudged you slightly with his shoulder. Your heart did a backflip at the touch and you quickly took a sip of your drink to get rid of the embarrassment. "I feel the same way you do."  
Your attention was caught, you pricked up your ears and looked at Marco in surprise. The otherwise light-hearted vice president also felt depressed?  
"You're just saying that to make me feel better." He shook his head and you lowered your eyes. Did he really mean it?  
"Who knows, maybe I just needed a chance to talk myself out," he replied, leaning back a little, trusting the tight knots of the rigging behind him. After all, you had tied the knots, so they could only be perfect.  
"Perhaps... we should do something like that more often. Well, only if you think so," you suggested sheepishly and stared into your lemonade. The bubbles of carbonic acid bubbled along, an endlessly long second, until Marco finally hummed approvingly.  
"Sounds good. It's fun to spend time with you."  
You nodded in bright red, not looking at the vice-president and tried to calm your fluttering heart. Gee, that could be something...


	52. Kizaru - Games

The evening had been dragging on for ages, it was a boisterous mood - but you were getting bored. Around you at the table sat your colleagues, all of them high-ranking members of the Navy. Suspicious glances were cast from one to the other, the hoarse clearing of Maynard was dismissed with a deep growl. In the middle of the wooden table lay a pile of coins and bills, while those present hid behind their cards.  
The celebration had started off exuberantly and cheerfully - there was drinking, dancing and laughing until the first young soldiers fell down drunk, literally. The officers joined together at one of the big tables for a game of poker. Well, more than just a round, if you get right down to it. The alcohol flowed in torrents and finally it was almost 2 a.m. when the last round was announced.  
"I raise!" Dalmatian threw another handful of bills in the middle, raising the bet almost twice. Grinding your teeth, you went along and added half your pay, hoping that your pretty good hand would save you. If not, you could forget the fancy new sword and you saved on it forever!  
"I'm out." Bastille threw his cards on the table before him and crossed his arms. He had lost a lot of money that night, but that was not uncommon - he was not very good at poker, despite his mask. A smothered, gloating laugh escaped you with a snort, and you kept looking around the table. Even Smoker threw his cards annoyed from the hand and squeezed one of his cigars out of the ashtray.  
"Every time the same thing," he rumbled and rolled his eyes. "Dalmatian is cheating again!"  
Immediately, the one I spoke to was on his feet, tossed his chair over, and Smoker was wildly insulting. It was really always the same, you thought amused.  
It was a lively confusion until finally a large pile of coins was thrown into the middle of the table, jingling. You looked to your left and it was none other than Kizaru himself. All evening long, he was silent and secretive, watching your conversations and saying little more than a few words. But you knew the admiral only too well - after enough drinks, he too became extremely talkative. On top of that, he was always up for a little gambling, a quality that was not exactly appropriate for an admiral...  
"I'll call." Kizaru looked into the round with a challenge. You said a low "Tse!" and grinned smugly. If Kizaru called, there was a 50-50 chance he was bluffing or had a clean hand. He was already buzzed, a fact you could tell by his slightly crooked glasses. He was so vain and squeamish about his appearance, you could tell he was a real hothead. Well, at least you did. You also noticed that he really looked at you a lot. I wonder if he wanted to look at your cards?  
You paid attention to his appearance, to him and how he behaved. There was probably no future in it, but you had a little crush on the admiral. He was a strange fellow, but it was exactly this strangeness that magically attracted you. You also liked his easygoing manner, especially when he was as tipsy as that evening. Then he was no longer a superior, then you were all just colleagues enjoying a nice evening. Apart from the abuse and the occasional thrown bottles. The other admirals were not so trusting, but who was surprised. After all, they were the absolute elite force of the Navy!  
Little by little, cards were either thrown vigorously on the table or even more money piled up in the middle of the table. It got exciting and by now you were pretty sure that Kizaru was bluffing.  
Triumphantly, you put down your hand with a flourish, rejoicing over the two tens that seemed to be the highest of all the hands present. New sword, here I come, you thought, greedily reaching out for the pile of money - but it would have been too beautiful.  
"Not so fast!" You winced and looked to the left. Kizaru glanced gloatingly at you over the edges of his glasses and leisurely laid his cards down in front of you.  
"Three ladies! You're not serious," you groaned and dropped backwards so that the back of your chair could just about hold you. "My beautiful money!"  
"I'm sure I'll get it next time." The admiral took his winnings, while the vice admirals present emptied their glasses and bottles and gradually left the table. What a defeat, such a huge pile of money went to the admiral with only one round. It was so frustrating!  
You watched Strawberry, who was the last to leave the table - except for you and Borsalino himself. In a good mood he counted his yield while you turned to him and leaned a little on the table.  
"I really thought you were bluffing." Borsalino paused and gave you a side glance. Yes, that was your leg, so close to his under the table. Yeah, that was on purpose. The alcohol had a very uplifting effect, you admitted to yourself. You were simply drunk, if you wanted to put it unromantically. But hey, he wasn't exactly sober either. I wonder if he responded to your advances. After this shameless victory, you were entitled to compensation!  
"I probably have a better poker face than I thought," he replied and his grin widened a little as he pressed his knee against yours. Oh, and how he responded to your advances! It would be a fun evening after all.   
"Sure?", you checked, watching the corners of his mouth twitch slightly upwards as you put your leg completely over his. "Doesn't look like it to me."  
"I always knew you liked games. Let's face it, it's pretty obvious you've been hoping to take me for a ride for a while now." You couldn't help but notice how lasciviously he flirted with you. The admiral, who was known for his coldness and apathy, courted you by every trick in the book - you wouldn't have bet on it when you got up. Sure, the liquor loosened his tongue, but who would have thought that behind the yellow sunglasses was such an eloquent man?  
"I can only reply the same," you said with raised eyebrows. "I see how you've been looking at my paper all evening." In doing so, you pushed your chest slightly upwards, so that the allusion to your cleavage was more than clear.  
There were hardly any soldiers around you. The few who were still lying around in the banquet hall were so drunk that they didn't notice anything. If not now, then when? Life is short, you thought, encouraging. And why not?  
You leaned forward a little and with a smile that was as enchanting as possible you put a strand of hair behind your ear. You had noticed the furtive looks for a long time, the eye contact that lasted too long, even while on duty. You weren't the only one here who was playing games.  
"You will surely take home your winnings of the evening, won't you?"  
A warm hand found itself on your leg, went up and stayed very high on your thigh - it almost drove you crazy inside. The situation became very tense very quickly, what a twist! It was wonderful.  
The expectant, crooked grin of Borsalino got a little wider. He really seemed to have been waiting all evening for such an opportunity. Ts, the admiral had it thick behind the ears, you had to give him credit for that.  
His free hand grabbed your left, pulled it a little closer, and the gloomy, lustful look in his eyes made your stomach roll. What an evening, you thought euphorically. You would exchange every cent on your high edge for this man, without hesitation. I wonder if that was still the same without alcohol.  
"Well, I guess we better be on our way, huh?" His answer made your heart beat faster, with excitement and boundless anticipation. Another sip from your glass, an eager nod, and he pulled you up from your chair, led you out of the hall with one arm around your shoulders.


	53. Akainu - Seeking solace

"You're bleeding."  
"So are you."  
"Mmm." Akainu made a repellent sound, a rumble deep in his chest. He was bleeding really badly, the whole half of his face was already stained red. Some of the blood was already dried, it mixed with the dust of the war to form a layer on his skin. You, on the other hand, pressed a bandage on the deep cut in your shoulder. A sword had hit you right in the crook of your neck, it was a miracle that you weren't too seriously injured - but it bled very badly. You had already soaked six gauze bandages, a doctor had already given you a transfusion, and things were only slowly getting better. The admiral chased the remaining soldiers through the debris of the Marineford, but he always stayed within your reach. He was worried, and not just about the cut.  
"Any other complaints? Headache, or a feeling of fainting?" a doctor pulled you out of your brooding. For a moment you were irritated by his voice, which broke through your gloomy thoughts about the Battle of Naval Fords. Even after shaking your head, your mind did not become clearer. It was difficult to concentrate, almost impossible. Something clouded your mind and prevented deeper thoughts.  
"We'll take her inside," the doctor turned to Akainu. "I don't like how clumsy she is. I'm thinking of a trauma that might last even longer."  
The admiral nodded with thanks and held out a hand to you, pulled you up from the wall where you had taken your seat. He was so worried about you, it was really touching.  
"I am well - mh, according to the circumstances well.". You gave in, but his eyes remained dark. He had so much to do, why did he waste his time with you at all? "Come on now, I'll find my way to the hospital by myself - uh, sir."  
"I'll go with you." He had hesitated for a second, but then he thought of something better and pushed you towards the destroyed main building. An improvised military hospital had been built there, because there were really enough wounded soldiers after this terrible fight. And at least as many who had not made it to the hospital at all. So much bloodshed, so many dead. It was a pure tragedy.  
"Some of the corridors are sealed by rubble." You looked up at Akainu, but your brain needed a moment to understand what was being said. "We'll take the north entrance to the building instead."  
"Oh, yes. Hmhm." you replied only softly. His words still didn't go over well with you. The cries of the injured, however, burned themselves into your memory. Screams of death.  
The passage in front of you was deserted, there was no one there but you and Sakazuki. He was still bleeding, you noticed that, but it didn't really get through to you. He probably had a concussion, a bad one at that. So why was he with you? And where was your sister Nana anyway? She was standing right behind you when the fight started. Why did you take the way inside the building when you were supposed to be looking for your sister?  
Your quiet steps on the concrete floor stopped when you stopped. Tears dripped on the floor and fell into the dust and debris when you remembered why this was the most horrible day of your life. The struggle. Your sister. The blood, so much blood.  
In vain you wiped your face with your sleeve, trying to hide the endless tears from your admiral. But Akainu had stopped, his gaze lay on you, and now you knew why he was so worried. How could you have forgotten that in the past hours?  
The reason why your cut on the shoulder wasn't that bad was Nana! She had thrown herself in front of you, had protected you, her beloved little sister. She had given her life for yours, a sacrifice that was so terrible and yet so wonderful. Now you were alone, all alone and had lost the last bit of family you had left in the world.  
Your knees gave way, you could only feel the pain of loss, the tears on your cheeks and it flashed through your mind that you had never cried so much before.  
Just in time, Sakazuki took a step forward, grabbed you by the shoulders and kept you on your feet before you collapsed into a pile of dust and debris. It was all so terrible, so incredibly horrible, and yet he was there. At that moment Sakazuki was not your admiral, he was not your superior - just the man you loved. Your dalliance was still so fresh and fragile, how could it survive such a terrible thing? How could you seek consolation with a man you would not even call your steady friend?  
"Now... v-I lose a-everything in one day," you sobbed as Sakazuki supported you with one hand on your shoulder and one in your neck. "N-nana and you, all I care about!"  
"But why would you lose me?" Sakazuki's tone of voice was honestly surprised, even a little confused about your statement. "I am fine."  
"That's not what I mean," you replied, unable to hold back a heavy sob. "My sister is... gone. And I'm going to lose you because we haven't seen each other for so long and now she's gone and-"  
"Nonsense." He sharply cut off the word and you were pulled into a firm, warm embrace. Sakazuki smelled of ashes, of blood, and yet his embrace was as warm and comforting as you would never have thought possible. Did this day not pass him by without a trace?  
"Don't talk such shit." Never before had you heard him swear so directly, so that for a moment you completely forgot to cry. Since when did he express himself so indiscriminately? "Do you really think I would leave you alone with this loss?"  
You remained silent for a moment, just enjoying the warmth that emanated from his body. Sakazuki would never touch you in public like that, press you so close. He was an admiral, he had a reputation and could not afford any weakness, you knew that perfectly well. That's why you appreciated the closeness in that fleeting moment so much that you pushed your pain aside for a minute. Your arms went up, across his chest and you pulled him down a little towards you. He pushed you a little closer, enjoying your touch as much as you enjoyed his. Sakazuki pressed a kiss on your forehead, causing you to sigh with a heavy sigh. In your next deep breath there was exhaustion and an absolute lack of strength that you had never experienced before. His tender gesture was a small consolation, but it was the small light at the end of a long and dark tunnel. The world had changed forever that day, but your constant was this man.  
"Sakazuki..." you muttered and leaned your forehead against his chest. "How am I going to live without my sister?"  
There you were again, the tears. The tender moment of affection was again violently repressed from your thoughts, taken over by pain and loss.  
"You still have me." You felt him gently lift your chin, a tenderness in this movement so unusual for him that it took your breath away a little. "Promised."  
He bent down a little and pressed a kiss on your lips. You tasted blood, some dust and knew that he wanted to seal the promise with a kiss. His romantic streak was strange - but it was comforting to know he was on your side. Perhaps the admiral was also looking for a little support on this day full of death and destruction.  
"Besides, I know what loss feels like." You looked up, gazed at his eyes, which were full of old scars. A distant pain still ravaged him, a void that needed to be filled with affection and warmth. You knew Sakazuki had lost someone, but you just didn't dare ask. When the time was right, he would tell you himself. Until then you could only comfort each other - even if behind closed doors.


	54. Sasaki - Relaxation

"Sasaki?”  
"What?"  
"I'm bored." He snorted, but tried to ignore you. "Come on, Sasaki, you said you wanted to spend time with me!"  
He sat at the low table in the middle of the room, with papers in front of him and a bottle of sake, too. His duty as Flying Six was also to keep an eye on his men and check the reports. Even the Beast Pirates were not safe from the bureaucracy!  
"You came to my place after all." he replied to your plea and didn't even bother to look at you. "The more you annoy me, the longer this crap will take."   
He put aside a stack of papers and watched you out of the corner of his eye. You were lying on the floor, face down, flipping through a book - you knew him and knew that you should take something to read when you were to visit him late at night. Of course you enjoyed spending time with him, but he was much more dutiful than you would have guessed.  
"Are you hungry?" he finally asked after a few minutes of silence and you looked up, shaking your head.  
"I ate in the kitchen. If you want, I'll get you something to eat." you replied and put your head at an angle. "Don't tell me you haven't had time to eat today again?"  
Sasaki paused briefly but then shook his head.  
"No, there was too much to do. Now that you mention it, I am really hungry."  
You nodded and put the bookmark between the pages of your book to keep track of your reading progress. In the kitchen there must be rice and vegetables, with a bit of luck there was even some meat left! Since you had been working there as a cook for a long time, nobody would notice that you were smuggling the food out. Besides the fact that at this late hour nobody cared for such things anyway!  
  


Half an hour later, the two of you were sitting together again, but this time, the table was full to the brim with food. You had brought all kinds of vegetables, rice and also some of the roast from lunch. For Kaido you cooked in raw quantities, so there was often many leftovers. No one spoke openly about it, but all the employees helped themselves to it. It would be a shame to throw the food away.  
"Did you make the vegetables today?" Sasaki asked between two bites. "It tastes better than usual."  
You couldn't help but smile when he praised your food.  
"Yes, I always use a bit more butter to fry. And my secret ingredient."  
"Secret ingredient?" He took another bite and looked at you questioningly. "And what's that?"  
"If I tell you, then it's no longer a secret!" you replied, shaking your head.  
"Anyway, it tastes good."  
"I'm glad." And it really did. Your heart beat faster at his compliment and once again you noticed how relaxed you were in his presence. Working for Kaido was, to say the least, a very stressful job. Mistakes were not allowed to happen to you, otherwise you would be made a head shorter. Actually, you should be a permanently nervous pile of misery, but luckily you still had Sasaki. From the beginning you got along well with him and after a few weeks it was as if you had known each other forever. And now, three years later, you were head over heels in love with him.  
"Will you stay here tonight?" You looked up from your bowl. Occasionally he allowed you to stay at his place - as the Flying Six, he had a much bigger and nicer place to stay than you. And he was well aware of that fact.  
"Yes, if you don't mind."  
"Pah, as if that would stop you!" he said, and laughed out loud. "I know you'd rather sleep here. No wonder, with your little place."  
"It's like living in a shoebox...", you agreed in frustration and put the empty bowls together. "I don't have to get up early tomorrow, I have the dinner and the cleaning. You?"  
"Not very early either, Ulti needs my people tomorrow. But I'll be pretty busy in the afternoon," he replied and yawned extensively. For a moment you admired the long fangs, but then you quickly looked up at the ceiling. That stupid heartbeat was so embarrassing! Not to mention the butterflies in your stomach when you looked at him...   
"You're lucky I have a guest room, otherwise you'd have to sleep on the floor." He emptied his sake bottle and seemed a little disappointed about the sparse rest, as he pulled the corners of his mouth down a little. "Although it's more like your room, I don't have visitors anyway. Luckily."  
Your own room, you thought, dreamily. It couldn't get any nicer, could it?  
  


An hour later you could hardly keep your eyes open anymore, but you tried to read on. Sasaki was still awake - though obviously tired - and went through the last reports of X-Drake. A silent yawn escaped you and you suppressed a shiver. It got cold at night and your thin top didn't warm you enough. Maybe you should go to bed after all...?  
"Come here." Sasaki had been watching you for quite a while, curled up into a freezing pile and almost falling asleep over your book. "You look like a beaten dog."  
He sat back a little, still cross-legged, to make room for you. You were sure you were misunderstanding the whole thing. Did he want you to sit on his lap? Holy sh--  
"Do you want to get warmed up or not?" You heard the vague uncertainty, he didn't know if he'd go too far and get dumped. Immediately you nodded and crawled over to him. With a wildly pounding heart you sat on him, leaning your back against his upper body. He snorted contentedly and pulled his coat a little more over his shoulders so that the cloth reached over your shoulders as well. With red ears you sat there tense, trying to enjoy the warmth.  
"Damn, you're really freezing cold!" he wondered loudly. "Why didn't you say something earlier?"  
"I had no idea that physical contact with you was within the realm of possibility," you replied tense and leaned back a little further. The man really was a walking heater, incredible!  
"And relax, it's like cuddling with a street light." he rumbled and leaned forward to go through the papers. He wrapped his right arm around your waist, naturally, as if he had done it a thousand times before. You hardly dared to breathe, to move, because then this moment could be over again.  
But the moment did not pass, on the contrary - Sasaki enjoyed the touch as much as you did. He leaned forward even further, resting his head on your shoulder and frowning in the face of Drake's lousy handwriting. He sighed slightly and you dared to raise your left hand and put it into his green hair. He leaned against your touch, unknowingly and subconsciously. He was focused on his work.  
His hair was soft, quite messy and you almost drowned in his wonderful smell. How many times had you imagined this, surely over a hundred times? And now you were here with the man you were so much in love with. Who could have imagined it?  
"Sasaki." He turned his head slightly towards you, blue eyes fixed on you and you knew he enjoyed this evening as much as you did.  
"Maybe you wouldn't like to sleep in the guest room for once, hm?" he asked and the hand at your waist pressed you even closer to his upper body. You just couldn't resist an excited smile and leaned forward to finally overcome the last inches between your lips.


	55. Sasaki - Coward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soulmate AU - soulmates have matching tattoos <3

  
It was hot, way too hot for the otherwise so pleasant weather in the flower capital. You fanned some air with your hand towards your face, but that didn't really help. The alternative was to take off your long-sleeved sweatshirt, but unfortunately that was out of the question.   
Next to you was Sasaki, who was talking to Sarahebi. You were listening with only half an ear, it was about Yamato who had disappeared again. It was up to you to track down Kaido's son, even if that was actually Sasaki's job. He was only too happy to shift the blame onto you, so that you asked around again and finally got a hint from Sarahebi.   
Sasaki had dragged you along to the flower capital, where you were now sweating on the street corner, waiting for him. Of all days you had to put on your black sweatshirt, huh? And still, you couldn't take it off. Serious reasons prevented you from that.  
Your eyes fell on Sasaki's tattoos that were sticking out from under his coat. They were only too familiar to you, and not because you had been working under his supervision for four years. Your tattoos were absolutely identical, down to the last inch.   
Soulmates had the exact same tattoos, without exception. The day you met Sasaki, you almost fainted. **That** guy was supposed to be your soulmate, seriously?   
But since then, he'd proven it over and over again. You got along great, even though he was technically your superior. As much time as you two spent together as coworkers - you were best friends, too. But there were no romantic advances so far, mostly because you blocked everything in that direction. You knew that Sasaki was your soulmate - he, however, did not. Never before had you worn so little that he could see your tattoos. He was so much stronger than you, more important than you - and you were simply afraid that he might reject you despite being soulmates. That you were not good enough.  
You really were a fucking coward.  
  


"Can we go now?", you asked annoyed and groaned theatrically. "It's much too warm today for stupid detective work."   
"Stop whining." Sasaki replied and nodded a quick goodbye to Sarahebi. He turned to you and shook his head when he saw your red face. Fanning the air didn't help and you're stewing in the hot spring sun of the flower capital.  
"Will we stay much longer," you asked and thought longingly of a cold glass of lemonade. "I want to go back to Onigashima, the weather isn't so warm there!"  
"It's your own fault if you show up here in your winter outfit." he said, straightening his cap. "But if that'll stop you from crying, let's go."   
"At last!" you grumbled, and together you set off back to Onigashima. "Did you at least find something out? Something useful?"   
He rubbed his neck, visibly annoyed.  
"Not a thing. Sarahebi said that the children saw Master Yamato somewhere around here this morning, but I think that's nonsense." he replied. "So your hint was complete bullshit."  
"As if that's my fault, yeah right!" You turned up your nose and grabbed the collar of your shirt to get some fresh air under the fabric. "As soon as we get back, I'm going to change, it's unbearable in sweaty clothes."  
You looked around in irritation when you noticed that Sasaki had stopped. He stared at you and you frowned.   
"What the-"  
"Your tattoo." You looked down on yourself and in fact, when you pulled your collar forward to fan the air, you could see into your neckline from Sasaki's position next to you. There you could see your tattoo, but only if you really tried to look down your neckline. Which meant then-  
"You're staring at my cleavage?!" you hissed upset and pressed your hand against your chest. "What the hell-?!"  
"Your tattoo." Sasaki repeated emphatically and took a step towards you. He grabbed your upper arm, ignored your surprised squeal and pulled you into a side street. It was a narrow little alley, dark and somehow scary even in broad daylight. He pulled you further and further to the end of the alley, where you were as undisturbed as possible in the city of flowers.   
"Take it off." He grabbed the hem of your shirt and you turned bright red, even more so than before.   
"What the- Sasaki!!," you protested immediately and wrapped your arms around your chest. "Are you kidding me?!"  
The blue eyes were staring at you, a fixed gaze that you knew only too well from him. When he was like that, he always got what he wanted. You knew that this wasn't about the sight of your naked skin - especially since you still wore a tank top underneath - but about your tattoo. Now he knew what a fucking coward you were.   
"Damnit... Okay, fine." you said softly and snorted. You pulled the sweatshirt over your head after leaning your weapon against the wall behind you. He watched you wordlessly, but his eyes narrowed slightly when he saw your upper body so freely for the first time. Your tattoos looked exactly like his, they were absolutely identical. It was the undeniable proof that you two were soulmates.   
"Why didn't you ever tell me?" You felt the rough leather of his gloves on your shoulder, then your collarbone - until he stopped. He did not dare to trace the ink further down. A mild sting of disappointment went through your chest, but that was only because you had been in love with Sasaki for ages. In the end, he was still your superior, no more and no less. Soulmate or not, was there even a future for you two? As a couple? Being friends was something completely different than a romantic relationship. There were also soulmates who were simply best friends though.   
"You're a member of the Flying Six, Sasaki, and I'm not." you replied and looked evasively to the side. On the one hand, the situation was unpleasant, but finally you were able to tell the truth: That you didn't think you were good enough. Not equal to him.   
"So what?"  
You looked up at him. His crooked grin was adorned by the sharp fangs which made your heart jump again. He moved towards you a bit, pushed you against the wall at your back and supported himself with one arm. Sasaki bent down and enjoyed the fact that it made you blush. Countless times you had imagined something like this in your daydreams and now it became reality!   
"You know, I already suspected something like this." His free hand went over your shoulder again, but this time further down to your tattoo. "We hit it off so well right away, it seemed a little strange to me. 't was too good to be true."   
"And you never spoke to me about it?" you asked sourly, but closed your eyes as he plucked the strap of your tank top. A light sigh you could barely resist, but you did not want to show him that you were wax in his hands.   
"I had hoped that you had noticed too and approach me, you know." he replied and - to your bitter disappointment - let go of you completely. "Perhaps we should continue the conversation in Onigashima, in private?"   
"Sasaki, did you really wait four years and not ask me about us being potential soulmates... Because you were too cowardly to do so?" you asked and tilted your head, narrowing your eyes. "For real?"  
He acknowledged your statement with no answer, a clear sign that you were right.   
It's unbelievable, you thought, we're really made for each other. 


	56. Sasaki - Loser

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I just think he's neat.

"Well? How's my favorite loser?"  
In response you only got an annoyed moan, which was underlaid with all appearances of immense pain. Like every year at the Fire Festival, Sasaki had challenged King once again and it didn't went too well for the member of the Flying Six. But at least he was persistent, you had to give him credit for that. Even if you had to patch him up every year.  
"Come on, get up!" He laid on his back in his own blood, while you stood broad-legged over him and pulled him by his coat into an upright position. Damn, he was so heavy!  
"Come on, help me out here!" you scolded him. "You are hanging there like a wet sack, jeez!"  
The dangerous growl that came from him didn't really impress you, so Sasaki gave up trying to intimidate you. He wasn't in good shape, oh he really wasn't - he was bleeding heavily and all in all, it wasn't his lucky day. You should be a little bit nicer to him, you scolded yourself. Sure, he was a rock-hard guy, but at that moment his survival depended on you - the doctor.  
You pulled the coat off his shoulders and carefully ran your hands over his shoulders, examining the deep cuts of King's claws. Well, you just shouldn't mess with a pteranodon, obviously.  
"What's the score?" His voice was scratchy and quiet, a sign that he really was in pain.   
"Your trapezius muscle took some deep cuts. It will take time for that to heal." you replied, pressing some compresses on the worst wounds on his right shoulder. "Hold this, would you please. I'll take a look at your forehead."  
Sasaki obeyed, held the compresses on his shoulder and let you carefully examine the cut on his head. The wound wasn't too bad, it hardly bled at all now. With his thick skull it was hardly a concussion, but you wanted to be on the safe side.  
"Can you stand up?", you asked him and pushed the green hair out of his face. Blue eyes patterned you briefly, then he nodded and rose under an exerted groan. He leaned on his sword, until you finally grabbed his arm and pulled over your own shoulder. As good as you could, you held him upright, nestled yourself close to his side to give him stability.

Like the other Flying Six, Sasaki owned a small house on Onigashima. Fortunately it wasn't too far away so you could drag your injured man there. The Fire Festival was still going on, there was a lot going on Onigashima - one more reason to get him home quickly. Every year he tried fighting and killing one of the All-Stars, every year Sasaki was defeated again. You wanted to spare him the mocking eyes of the people on Onigashima. He may have been a loser, but you sincerely admired him for his infinite endurance.  
"Sit down." You let him down on the wooden porch of the house, put your bag down next to him, and looked out of the corner of your eye as he flinched briefly under the pain. He hardly made a sound and you rolled your eyes behind his back. Sasaki had a huge ego and a good portion of pride - which was not necessarily an advantage.  
In the small kitchen you took a metal bowl and boiled some water. Normally you would treat him in your own house, your own little doctor's office. But Sasaki would not give himself the shame and come to your office, never!  
Then the office had to come to him, the stubborn idiot. You sat down next to him on the wood, put the bowl of hot water next to you and pulled the bloodstained coat off his upper body. Sasaki twitched, but said nothing and looked stubbornly in a different direction than yours. That went against your grain, after all you sacrificed your valuable free time for this idiot!  
"Look at me, damnit!" You grabbed his jaw, turned his face towards you and wiped the blood from his face with a wet towel.  
"Stop mothering me-!" he growled aggressively, but you silenced him with a hiss. The anger in your eyes silenced him and he let you continue.  
"Sasaki, as your doctor, I tell you: you'll be fine. Get some rest and let the wounds heal properly this time." you grumbled and pulled bandages out of your doctor's bag. "And as your girlfriend, I'm telling you: Stop rushing headlong into this every time!"  
You looked at him in anger, but underneath the rage was a seething of honest concern for his well-being. You knew that King was ruthless and would kill Sasaki if he had to.  
"I don't watch your fights anymore because I can't stand it when you get hurt." you continued and took the compresses off his shoulder. The bleeding had stopped but he couldn't get around a suture.  
"After all, I'm the one who has to patch you up every time." He flinched when you injected a small amount of anesthetic into his shoulder - with a little more pressure than intended. After a deep breath you were a little calmer, but you were still worried and angry with him.  
As always, Sasaki remained silent, he was not a man of big romantic words. That was okay, you could live with that - but he should at least take care of himself a little.  
"I'm sick of worrying every time." You had to blink several times to make the tears in the corner of your eye disappear. Your heart hurt, it stretched across your entire chest and you leaned your forehead against his freshly bandaged shoulder. "Shit, you're really fucking me up."  
Startled, you squealed up when Sasaki wrapped his arm around you and pulled you from the porch to his lap. Immediately you turned your head worried, looked at the freshly bandaged shoulder - but no blood came through the bandages.  
"You'll tear your stitches, Sasa-" you scolded, but were interrupted when he leaned his forehead against your back and pulled you as close as possible. With both arms around your waist, he held you tight, took a deep breath and enjoyed the warmth of your body.  
"You're such a pain in the ass sometimes, you big idiot..." you muttered softly, but leaned back and enjoyed his firm embrace. It was an apology, in his very own way. Sasaki loved you, oh he really did, but he showed it to you more through touching and action than through big words. If it were different, it wouldn't really be him anymore. You knew each other for so long, ever since he was your captain back then - before the Beast Pirates. You were unconditionally loyal to him and he had never had eyes for anyone else. It was a unique kind of romance between the two of you.  
An exhausted sigh escaped both of you at the same time, and from that point on you couldn't help but laugh a little.  
"I'll make us something to eat, huh?" you asked and turned to him. Blue eyes admired you for a moment, the glow of the evening sun in your hair and the love you shared with him. He quickly recovered, nodded and let you go so you could get up. "What would you think of a large vegetable dish? You need something healthy now."  
He nodded silently and closed his eyes as you pushed his cap up and gave him a quick kiss on the forehead. You rolled up your sleeves and collected the bloody cloths from the porch. On your way to the kitchen you heard him sigh.  
"Love you." You did not turn to him, but his words went down like honey. Affection swelled in your chest, made you smile and you sighed in love's delight.  
"Love you too." you replied, your voice as soft as Sasaki's. You couldn't remember the last time he had been so meek, seeking your affection. It warmed your heart, this so rare moment of raw, honest feelings between you two.


	57. King - Heal

Humming softly to yourself, you sorted the small vials full of antibiotics into the cabinet, neatly arranging each vial. The glass clinked slightly as the door to your practice opened and you saw King behind you in the reflection of the glass door. You turned and smiled at him, even though he seemed extremely serious as usual.  
"Hello, King.", you greeted him kindly. Why was he with you? King was far too strong to be hurt in fights. Unless, of course, he had really had a run-in with Queen. But then it would be the fat All-Star with you rather than King. "Are you all right?"  
"I'm fine, yeah." he said immediately. You frowned, because his answer came a little too quickly, too rehearsed. Surely he came to you, the Beast Pirate doctor, for a reason? You raised your brows, expectantly, and he puffed a little.  
"I need your advice," he admitted, and you nodded. Once again you were right, _oh, what a surprise_.  
"Let's hear it." you urged him and he shifted his weight from one leg to the other. He seemed visibly uncomfortable about seeking you out. This then stimulated your curiosity after all and you waited patiently for his answer.  
"It's my wing. Left." He stretched the wing a little and you heard the soft rustle of feathers in motion. "It hurts."  
"Okay, I'll take a look then," you replied, and once again you were part human doctor, part veterinarian. When you were in medical school you never thought you'd be doctoring wings, hooves and tails. Well, as life was full of surprises...  
"Stretch it out all the way, please. And sit down, you're way too tall..." you beckoned him and King obeyed, glad you didn't ask stupid questions about his wing-anatomy. He sat down on the floor so you could examine the wing. The feathers under your fingertips were unexpectedly soft and you had to confess, touching the wings was on your list of things to do. King was very serious and strict, so you had never even dreamed of being able to palpate every inch of the wings.  
"Stretch all the way out, please..." you asked him, completely absorbed in feeling the joints. Wordlessly, he did as you asked, spreading the wing all the way out until it almost reached the wall of the room. Your fingers ran through the feathers, carefully and also a little uncertainly. Did it hurt him when you lifted the feathers slightly? Was it uncomfortable for him? They felt so smooth, so soft and elegant. If you looked closely, there were slight color changes in the dark feathers, almost like a grain or pattern. It was only visible up close, and you had a hunch that you were one of the first to see it.  
"If I'm hurting you, just tell me," you tried to mask your uncertainty. "When does it usually hurt?"  
"When I stretch." He demonstrated the movement and you kept your hands on the joints as he did so. It all moved just great, but you felt the slight twitch in the muscles as he fully extended the wing.  
"Okay, thanks." You sighed and considered for a moment. It seemed to be an overused tendon, but it was hard to tell. King hardly ever came to you, so you didn't know if it happened often.  
"Have you been putting extra strain on your wings lately? I know you were just out with Master Kaido," you inquired. King growled in agreement and turned to you.  
"I did indeed have an unpleasant encounter and had to catch myself from a great height," he admitted. "Since then, the pulling on the left has been permanent. Worse when I stretch the wing."  
"I understand." You bent over and grabbed his shoulder. The heavy leather made it almost impossible to feel anything underneath. "The shoulder, too, then?"  
He shook his head and you ran your fingertips over the tendon at the top of the wing, tracing its course to the joint.  
"Hmm." you made thoughtfully. "You should definitely take it easy. I don't think there will be any permanent damage. Still, you really need to be careful with it."  
"Thanks."  
  
Encouragingly, you smiled at him again, but of course you didn't know whether he reciprocated. King was a strange contemporary, you thought to yourself quietly and secretly. Of course, pretty much all Beast Pirates were _really weird_ , but he was... somehow unpredictable. Fortunately, he was very loyal to Kaido, you really didn't want such a strong fighter as King as an enemy!  
"A suggestion." You leaned down to him over his shoulder, propping your hands on his broad back. "You come to me once a day, I'll do some kind of physical therapy with you, just on the fly. It can't hurt to try."  
The all-star looked at you, seeming to weigh carefully whether it was necessary. You wanted to spend more time with him, because after all, there was something very attractive about that mysterious streak. And somewhere under all that leather, surely there had to be a nice guy hiding?  
"It all remains confidential, of course," you continued, as convincingly as possible. "Doctor-patient confidentiality."  
"You're the doctor." he finally agreed, but you knew he didn't _really_ agree. He would be guaranteed not to show up and defy your order instead. The high-ranking officers of this pirate gang were really all the same - stubborn idiots.   
"Okay, listen." You let go of him and walked around King, who was still sitting cross-legged on the floor of your practice. Even sitting down, he was as tall as you, it was just amazing.  
"King, I know you're, like, super important to our crew," you started and he snorted, crossing his arms in front of his chest expectantly. Okay, the opening was a little bumpy. "But I'm your attending physician right now. You're going to listen to me, and you're going to come here every day for at least a week. I'm going to make sure you're not in pain anymore and no one is going to know about this. Do you understand?"  
He blinked at you. It seemed unusual for him to be bossed around like that. You really took a lot of liberties to put him in his place like that - but for the health of your patients, you took risks. Even if you were going to mess it up with King forever! And also considering the fact that he could snap your neck with one hand like a toothpick.  
But he only snorted with a suppressed laugh and finally got up from your floor. Never before had you noticed even a hint of emotion from him, so you could do nothing but stare at him with wide eyes.  
"Understood." you got in reply, and he leaned down a little towards you. "I think it's clear that if you speak to me like that outside of this room - well, the whole thing would have very serious consequences. You know that, right?"  
You nodded, now very intimidated by him after all. The amused glint in his eyes was the only thing that indicated some amusement. Or was it murderousness? It was really hard to tell with him!  
"I know." you said boldly, puffing up your chest a little. "But in here, I'm the boss!"  
"Yeah, I can tell." King agreed, tilting his head slightly. "Fine, I'll follow your instructions. Same time tomorrow?"  
You nodded, whereupon he took his leave, leaving you with a pounding heart in your office. Well, from now on you had a date with King - every single day.  
Purely professional, of course.


	58. Sasaki - Come-hither

There were many factories in Wano: they produced weapons, armor and other export goods. Kaido earned a lot of money with it, _tons of money_ to describe it a little more closely. Whether the export of weapons was such a morally sound thing, you didn't think about that as much as possible. You had a job, you got your payment, accommodation and nobody messed with Kaido. Apart from the accidents at work - caused by the heavy machines - there was no risk.  
Fortunately, you didn't have to work in one of the factories on the main island. Your forge was located on Onigashima and you crafted only the finest selection of weapons and armor. You had already been forging metal for 30 years, since you were barely taller than the coffee table of your grandfather, who had apprenticed you. Your skills were second to none, which was one of the reasons why you often received visits from high-ranking officers.  
A new sword here, a fancy pistol there - you could forge anything that was considered a weapon.  
On this relaxed Sunday evening at the forge, you had plenty of time to yourself as you finished the final touches on your current assignment. It had been a rush job, came in the day before, and you were polishing the repaired sword to a shine when its owner walked in.  
"Ah, Sasaki." you greeted him without turning around. "Right on time as usual."   
"Is it ready?", he only asked in return and you cradled your head.  
"To be honest, I'd rather have kept it here another day. I hate this rushing around and you know it." You looked up at him with a wry grin on your face, which he returned. You got along quite well, because Sasaki knew that if he wanted a good sword, he had to get in good with you. Normally he was not a person who ingratiated himself, but with you he was as tame as a lap kitten. Also he seemed to really _like_ you, too.   
You stood up and handed him his broad sword, letting him scrutinize your work. He was pedantic, but luckily so were you.  
"Like it never broke," he remarked, impressed. You weren't quite sure how he had broken such a strong sword in the first place - but you had made it like new again. The blade shone in the glow of the fire beside you, and it really did look like brand new. "I'm impressed."  
"Of course you are," you replied, snorting softly. Of course he was!   
"Before I forget, I have something for you." Sasaki handed you a folder of papers.  
"For me? Oh, you shouldn't have~!" you purred at him, giving him an amused look on top of that. Sasaki was exactly your type of man: he was strong, a real stubborn guy and his rough, gruff manner was no problem for you - on the contrary, it suited your relentless honesty very well. All in all, you had been interested in Tobi Roppo for a long time.  
Curious, you took a direct look at the documents. They were plans for new shield walls and you liked the ideas at first sight. However, you would have to order the black steel first, so that you could start with it in four weeks at the earliest.  
"So... How badly do you need it?" you asked, tilting your head. You fervently hoped he could hear your highly suggestive remark. You were tired of this back and forth with flirting and jokes - it was time to speak plainly.  
Sasaki hesitated, because **_oh_** , he had understood your remark. He seemed to be weighing up whether it was wise to get involved with you. The loudmouthed master smith, legendarily rebellious and always had to have the last word. All this, however, seemed to speak for you, as he left his sword to his left and folded his arms in front of his chest. Was he really flexing his muscles to impress you? What a show-off!  
"That all depends on your available time." He leaned toward you a little. "And your flexibility."  
You almost couldn't help laughing - your flirtations were totally cheap, luckily no one else was in the forge this late. It would be just too embarrassing if anyone heard. But still, you were pleased to hear that the interest was probably mutual. You tugged a little at your dirty, sweaty tank top and gave Sasaki a definite look.  
"I'd have to work a lot of overtime, and in the heat here," you purred to him. "I think that calls for a bonus."

"Oh, you shall have your bonus." His voice was deep, it was more of a growl than anything else. You liked that, you wanted to hear more of it, to elicit more of those deep sounds from him. But that would have to wait, unfortunately. After a full day at the forge, you reeked of sweat, metal, and the ashes of the fire. You felt sticky, you were certainly sticky, and a hot shower was more than necessary.  
But before you could get any more disgusted with yourself, Sasaki had already grabbed you by the back of the neck with one hand and kissed you. You squeaked a little startled, because such a quick reaction to your lascivious offer you had really not expected. You didn't really know yet if his fangs were strange when kissing you or not, but it was most likely just a matter of getting used to them, like it was with so many things. But if he was already kissing you with so much vigor, what would it be like when he got really serious? The thought alone made your knees weak and you grabbed the collar of his coat for support. You pressed your lips against his, pressed your body against him, and if that wasn't a clear message, you didn't know what else was.  
But you still had in the back of your mind that you really wanted to shower first before this ended in what would probably be a long night. Even the thought of a night with Sasaki made your whole body tingle in pure anticipation and expectation. Still, you pulled away from his grasp and looked up at him. It took all of your willpower to step away, because you _really_ wanted to continue this.   
"Okay, here's a suggestion: I'm going to go home and take a shower. After that, I'll bring some of my best sherry, which we'll drink together, and then - let's just see what happens."  
Blue eyes watched you for a moment and Sasaki grinned, swaying his head playfully in thought. He really could be an idiot, you thought fondly. Even the high-ranking officers had their endearing quirks, were actually very affable behind the appearance of their high position.  
"I guess I could get into that, yes." he agreed, and your grin grew so wide, you felt like a hormone-charged teenager on a first date. Your openly lustful invitation was accepted and you couldn't wait to continue this evening. You wanted to turn away, to freshen up as quickly as possible, but Sasaki intercepted you one more time. He grabbed your wrist, kissed you again, then let go of your lips to lick over the skin on your neck.  
You almost couldn't hold back the muffled moan in your throat, but you didn't want to make it that easy for him either. However, it was clear that just like you, he finally wanted to continue this evening. Your hand went into his hair, grabbed it and you pulled him away from you. He gave you a mixture of a growl and a low moan, a sound of raw _lust_ , clearly but a sound you liked very much. Blue eyes met yours and his intentions were obvious: he would love to make you scream right now, to push you on the table with the tools and do all kinds of dirty things to you.  
When you thought about it more carefully, why not? You'd end up sweaty anyway, so...?  
"We could just shower together in the morning, too-" you suggested, your voice low and rough with lust. Sasaki didn't answer you, instead he grabbed you roughly by the waist and maneuvered you to the worktable - he seemed to have been waiting only for your consent for this.  
That was definitely answer enough.


	59. X Drake - Rain

The mission had gone very, very wrong. You weren't necessarily worried about your safety - after all, X Drake was with you - but it hadn't gone quite according to plan.  
You were supposed to meet a contact together, a former Doflamingo employee, but the Navy had already pulled up half the network of contacts. It was a trap - admittedly, a good trap - and you ran right into it. Now it was a matter of putting your feet up and escaping the clutches of the Navy.  
The chase had finally brought you to a small island near Dressrosa, a place for tourists looking for some rest and sun. It was a quiet spot, with lots of plantations of fruit trees, and if you two weren't on the run, you'd love to vacation in this place.  
You pulled your sun hat a little lower on your face and did the same with Drake's straw hat, even though he growled in displeasure. It was already late in the evening, the heavy summer air brought a thunderstorm over the orchard, you could already see the first dark clouds on the horizon. The sultry air made it hard to breathe and you couldn't wait to finally get a good night's sleep. For three days now, the two of you had been awake without so much as a nap! You could almost just fall over on the spot and black out, but you still had to hang on until you could finally go to the little rented cottage.  
The owner handed Drake the keys and eyed you suspiciously.  
"You're married, right?" the old man asked in a raspy voice. "I don't want no fornication in my guest house!"  
Immediately you hooked up with Drake and smiled broadly.  
"We're on our honeymoon!" you replied, pressing yourself against Drake's side. He didn't make a sound, but didn't deny it either. You had to keep a low profile, even if it meant making such a fuss.  
"Well then..." the old man grumbled. "Have a pleasant evening, kids."  
You thanked him politely, pushing Drake as fast as you could to the other end of the plantation, past the lovely smelling lemon trees. The sultry air made you even more aware of the lemony smell, it lulled your head. You were so tired, you just wanted to sleep!  
Behind you, the heavy wooden door to the small stone house closed and instantly you could exhale. It was only for one night, you and Drake would just sleep a round and then sail the last bit to Wano.  
Drake immediately went through the small cottage, examining every inch just in case you had already been followed. He yanked open the closet doors, looked behind every door, and even opened the kitchen cabinets. What, was Vice Admiral Tsuru supposed to be hiding under the sink? Fatigue was getting to him too, you thought, and you made your way to the bathroom, took off your hat, and looked at yourself in the mirror. You had huge bags under your eyes and were very pale. You would shower in the morning, now you really just wanted to sleep.  
You walked into the small bedroom and stopped.

_Oh, damn._

"Drake?" you asked into the other rooms of the cottage. "Is there, by any chance, a sofa in there?"  
"No.", it came back and he seemed to have finished his tour, coming to the bedroom and seeing the problem. "Oh."  
There was only one bed. It was a gorgeous bed, huge, and it looked so darn comfy.... And yet, it was only one bed. So you had to share it.  
"I'll sleep on the floor." said Drake immediately, and he tossed the straw hat you'd gotten him for camouflage onto the dresser. You shook your head and sat on the edge of the mattress. Ohh, the bed was so soft and the sheets were freshly laundered.... It was just heavenly.  
"I'll keep watch then," Drake kept trying to talk his way out of it. He really was a sweetheart, you thought, amused. He tried with all means not to come too close to you. And you really had nothing against it, oh no! Not with this handsome man, so muscular and strong. And the way he sometimes looked at you, when he thought you didn't notice... Well, the attraction seemed to be there on both sides.   
"Get your ass in bed, right now.", you just growled and threw yourself fully onto the soft mattress. From a distance you heard the first thunder of the storm, the low growl of a gathering storm. If you weren't being chased by the Navy, this really would be a dreamy evening. But at that moment you just wanted to sleep, sleep, _sleep_....  
Next to you the mattress gave way under Drake's weight, he lay down on the bed as far away from you as possible, tense and stiff as a board. You nudged him gently with your hand, already half-dozed off, and he relaxed a little in response.  
"Good night," you murmured and finally - after more than 80 hours of chasing - you were allowed to sleep.

In the morning - or was it already noon? - you yawned heartily and listened to your surroundings. Well, you weren't handcuffed and the rain was steadily pelting the roof of the cottage. I guess that meant then that you and Drake had not been captured, that you had both spent a relaxing night in that heavenly soft bed. The patter of the rain lulled you back to sleep a little, you were still so tired.... Next to you your companion stirred, he seemed to be still asleep. You continued to cling to the source of warmth next to you, until you abruptly opened your eyes. Your hands were on something warm, you felt naked skin under your fingertips. Drake's upper body was exposed, as always under his jacket, but he had apparently taken it off to sleep. The straps of your summer dress had slipped, and if you leaned forward just a little more, you could catch really deep glimpses.  
You looked up, into the sleeping face of the infamous X Drake. When he wasn't looking so glum, he was really handsome. The smell of the rain sweetened your morning even more, it lulled you completely and you decided to just enjoy it. When would you next get the chance to cuddle with a handsome Tobi Roppo, huh?  
With as little movement as possible, you moved closer to Drake, pressed your face against his shoulder, and sighed lightly. What you would give to have a whole weekend with the handsome man just for you, at this little orchard in the middle of nowhere.... That would be a dream come true.  
A low growl escaped Drake and he moved under your touch. Disappointed, you braced yourself to be pushed off the edge of the bed, but that didn't happen. Surprised, you looked up into two blue eyes that regarded you sleepily. He was just as sleepy as you, not yet in his right mind and looking for warmth - and a little togetherness.  
"You're awake." you noted in a raspy voice, stifling a yawn.  
"Been awake for a while," you got in reply. Did that mean he'd been cuddling you the whole time? Drake?! No way!  
"It's probably late.", you yawned and went to sit up, but he grabbed your hand and held you tight. His arm wrapped around your waist and he hugged you a little tighter. You swallowed, unsure how to act. Drake was usually so terribly serious, and now this...?  
"Five more minutes." he said, and you rested your head on his chest after a moment's hesitation, listening to the dull thump of his heartbeat. "As soon as we set sail, we'll have the Navy on our heels again."  
"Right, yeah." What's the point of thinking this through? You should just enjoy this moment, you told yourself. For once he's not such a tense guy, and of course you had to question it right away. Who knew, maybe he just wanted to enjoy a normal day for once?  
So you closed your eyes and sighed deeply, putting your arm around Drake's torso and enjoying the warmth of his skin. The rain pelted the roof incessantly, leading you into a comfortable half-sleep, paying attention only to the regular rise and fall of Drake's chest. His hand went up into your disheveled hair, playing with a strand of hair and you heard a light sigh from him as well, he was content with this rainy morning and your almost intimate embrace.


	60. Who's Who - Fortitude

There was a small Western-style bar on Onigashima, a private club for the most important members of the Beast Pirates. The usual guests included the All-Stars, especially Queen, Sasaki, and Who's-Who. The latter, in particular, was often at the Fortitude, so you could secretly ogle him several times a week. The club was small and stuffy, there was a small stage and the proceeds went exclusively to Queen. He was in charge of entertainment, liked to throw huge parties, and entertained a good portion of the resident Beast Pirates. With so many members, general morale had to be kept high and you did your part.  
As the star of the show, you had to get up on stage every night in an uncomfortably tight dress, performing your songs and hoping for a little togetherness with the Tobi Roppo Who's-Who. He often visited the bar, let himself get drunk to the top and stared at you from the VIP area. If possible, you would join him, have a glass of wine, and let him talk to you. He was an oddball, but you liked Who's-Who a lot - from his handsome physique to his ability to make you laugh. That you really, _really_ liked him you pushed into a remote corner of your mind. Feelings were complicated, especially under Kaido's regime. It was not welcome to openly live relationships; However, that was also unavoidable with 30,000 crew members.  
"You were stunning, as always." You made your way off the stage when Queen immediately rushed to you and extended his hand to help you down the steps. Gratefully, you accepted and made your way to the bar for a drink. It was a rehearsed ritual: your entrance, a drink at the bar, and finally a flirtation with Who's-Who, who was already waiting at his usual regular spot. Queen once again showered you with compliments, he was a huge fan of yours and had picked you out of the ranks of workers. Your talent was recognized by the All-Star and overnight you had become a star, known by every member of the Beast Pirates. Your reputation preceded you and the club was filled to capacity. No wonder Queen liked you - you brought in a lot of money.  
"Good evening, beautiful." Who's-Who greeted you warmly as always, and it flattered you every time, too. You sat down at the bar with him while he ordered a drink for you from the bartender. He knew exactly what you liked to drink, you didn't even have to mention it to him anymore. Who's-Who knew you really well after two years and yet he had never forced his feelings onto you. He was notorious for going a little overboard sometimes. Towards you, however, he was always a gentleman who behaved well. From that, it could actually be concluded that he liked you, right?  
"You're early today," you started the conversation, sipping the drink you took from the bartender. "You don't usually get here until 11 pm, do you?"  
"Queen said you were a little early yourself today," he replied, emptying the glass of whiskey in front of him in one go. He stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and you sighed softly to yourself.  
Should you finally ask him out today? For ages you wanted to go out with him, outside this stuffy little bar and without the light dimmed by cigarette smoke. Unfortunately, you didn't dare to ask him, because after all, it would be just embarrassing if he turned you down in the end. Then you'd look pretty stupid, so you'd rather leave it alone. But what if he did say yes?  
"Say, Who's-Who..." you mumbled, stirring the little straw in your drink. "Why do you come here so often, anyway? Just because of me?"  
He made a curious noise, a growl deep in his throat.  
"What makes you think that?" he asked, reaching for his cigarettes in his jacket. "Don't you like it when I come to your shows?"  
"No, it's not that," you replied immediately, waving it off with a smile. "On the contrary, I find it very flattering."  
"Then why the question?" Hmm, how were you supposed to explain to him as elegantly as possible that you wanted to go out with him? Without sounding totally off and embarrassed.  
"I figured we could meet like this but... in private. Just you and me." you mumbled, taking a big gulp of your drink, inwardly gripped by panic. Ah, had you really just asked him! Where did this courage come from all of a sudden?  
Who's-Who, however, hesitated for a moment.  
"Something like... A date?" he asked. You nodded.  
"Not 'like a date' - a date.", you corrected him, trying to look as confident as possible. "Unless you don't want to?"  
"Oh, I absolutely want to go on a date with you." Now Who's-Who was completely in his element again. He snorted in relief, seeming to have been just as nervous as you. "To be honest, I've been meaning to ask you out for a while. There just hasn't been a suitable opportunity until now, you know..."  
That wasn't true, you thought with amusement. There were countless good opportunities, since he was at the Fortitude pretty much every night anyway. As aloof as he always acted, Who's-Who was still insecure toward you, as so many men were. You were known for your stunning beauty, all of Onigashima dreamed of your performances - even Who's-Who would line up to see you on stage. This was a huge boost to your ego, of course, but what did you care about all the other guys? You just wanted this one guy, with whom you finally had a date!  
"What do you think about tomorrow night? I'm off work and wanted to cook something delicious," you suggested, your smile widening a little. "You could bring something to drink for us."  
"So you're already dragging me right into your house, huh?" asked Who's-Who, leaning forward a little. "Naughty girl."  
You almost laughed out snorting at that bad line, but you didn't want to ruin your date with him. Even though he was one of the strongest men in the Beast Pirates, Who's-Who was still quite a jerk sometimes. That's what you liked so much about him, that despite everything, he was still kind of an adorable idiot. That only made him all the more attractive to you, because what did you want with a stone-cold commander? An outwardly serious, yet very likable man was much more preferable to you!  
"I'm going to go wriggle out of this ridiculously tight dress for now," you said, rising from the bar stool as elegantly as possible. You faltered briefly, staggered, and then regained your balance. You desperately needed to negotiate with Queen about your stage outfits....  
"I could help you with that," came teasingly from Who's-Who, but you just slapped him gently on the shoulder and laughed.  
"You wish!" you retorted, leaning forward to press a fleeting kiss to his cheek. "You'd better be patient until tomorrow, lecher."  
He gave a playfully disappointed growl, but followed you with a dreamy look as you made your way to the dressing room. Inwardly, you cheered because you had finally done it: you had a date with him! Finally, after all that daydreaming, your wish was finally granted.  
Well, your job at Fortitude wasn't so bad after all.


	61. Brook - In Between Worlds

"Oh! Hi, Brook.", you greeted the member of the Straw Hat Pirates who visited you once again in the marketplace. The Straw Hats had been anchored on this small island for several days, and since the only town on the island was so small, you had already met all of them. The quirky musician, however, was the one you liked the most, even though he was really weird. But that's what you liked about him and he came to your little café every evening, talked to you and complimented you on your menu.  
"Good evening.", he greeted you and sat down at one of the tables outside. You were clearing the table and gave him a smile. He was good company, because a skeleton had many exciting stories to tell, that much was clear.  
"And that whale is still waiting for you?"; you asked, impressed, after he finished his story. "Wow, that's really incredible."  
"I'm looking forward to finally seeing him again. My captain and the others ran into him too!"; Brook said and he nodded gratefully as you placed a cup of tea on the table for him.  
"Yeah, I understand that you want to see him again." You sat down with him and sighed, moved by such a beautiful yet sad story. The usually quite cheerful Brook seemed a little downcast, which saddened you, too. You liked his cheerful nature a lot, all the more reason why you wanted to cheer him up.  
"You know, there's a little festival tonight, just two blocks away," you said, weighing your head thoughtfully. "There's food and good music, so if you want to go..."  
"Yoho...? Are you inviting me?" asked Brook, his mood suddenly seeming to lift a little. Embarrassed, you nodded and rose from your chair, ready to close your cafe.  
"If you want, we'll go right ahead. Unless you want to bring someone else from your crew along," you said. Subliminally, though, you hoped it would be a date just the two of you.  
"Oh, no, I don't think- that would be appropriate." Pleased, your smile widened a bit and you hurried to close the café. You'd have a nice evening with Brook and this thought alone made your heart vibrate in your chest.

Just half an hour later, you were already loaded down with sweets. There were many stalls with hearty food, cotton candy and sweets, it was just wonderful! Once a year there was a this summer festival in town and it was the biggest event of the year. As small as the island was, almost everyone already knew everyone and you were greeted kindly from all sides. Brook, of course, immediately caught everyone's eye, but that didn't bother you much. The skeleton was a surprisingly good conversationalist, he didn't just throw bad jokes around all the time. He did that anyway, but you enjoyed your conversation very much. Still, you hardly dared to ask what you were really interested in: What was it like to be a skeleton?  
"Brook, tell me-isn't it kind of _weird_ sometimes, you know-" You gestured down at him a little, and he laughed.  
"Yoho, you mean I'm dead, huh?" he asked, amused. You nodded sheepishly in response - he seemed to have to explain that a lot, from the casual way he handled your awkward question.  
"Yes, that's what I mean... Sorry, that came out so clumsy."  
"It's not very spectacular, I'm afraid..." he said as you strolled down the alley of stalls. The paper streetlights illuminated the late summer evening and a pleasantly sultry air hung over the city. It was a summer night straight out of a fairy tale, with the sweet smell of food in the air. Your heart fluttered nervously and you wondered - was this really a date? You had a date with one of the Straw Hats...?  
"Why? I imagine it would be very, well, interesting," you replied, walking a little closer beside him. Brook either didn't seem to notice your tentative approach or simply didn't mind. That pleased you, but you also did not want to overdo it. After all, you were strangers who had met by chance. Brook would soon leave again and then you only had your little café on this little island. That was your life and he had his, nothing could be done. So you both should enjoy the evening, you thought quietly to yourself.  
"In a way, you can say I'm a little more alive than I was before, you know?" said Brook, and you gave an approving hum.  
"Makes sense, sort of..." you mumbled, offering him some of your cotton candy. He took a bite of the sugar ball, and you briefly wondered where the cotton candy would end up - ah, you probably didn't want to know.  
"I did spend quite a bit of time alone with myself and my thoughts, which wasn't always pleasant," Brook continued. You had a hunch he didn't tell everyone that, though, so you were one of the lucky ones. "I've spent a long time between the world of the living and the dead, and I like the living one a lot better."  
"I'm sorry if the question was too direct," you apologized quietly, with a bit of bad conscience in your undertone.  
"Ah, don't worry about it. It doesn't bother me to talk about it. At least it doesn't by now," he replied, and the two of you arrived at the harbor, which was almost completely deserted. The party was most likely in the center of town, and during your conversation it had finally brought you to the Thousand Sunny. The time you spent with Brook went by really fast. Your heart grew heavy at the thought that he would soon be gone. How quickly you could get used to a person, it was really fascinating.  
"When are you going to set sail again?" you asked, looking up at the beautiful Straw Hats ship.  
"Nami said it would only be a day or two before the route's set," Brook replied and you sighed softly. Noticing this, he looked at you, tilting his head questioningly.  
"Ah, it's just... I'm going to miss our conversations," you admitted, "I like talking to you."  
"The feeling is mutual." With a smile, you hooked up with Brook, who didn't object for a second. "Another round about the festival, what do you say?"  
Immediately you nodded and you made your way back, taking the same one you had come.  
"But what does it have to do with all the half-assed jokes?" you asked, looking at Brook with a sly grin. "Don't tell me someone's ever laughed at that?"  
"Rarely." he admitted, laughing along with you.  
"I guess everyone has their own way of coping with bad things from the past, huh..." you mumbled to yourself and pulled him over to one of the candy stands. "Come on, let's bring Chopper some cotton candy!"  
It really was a wonderful evening, an evening you would remember for a very long time.


	62. Sasaki - Pain

"You're sick."  
"I'm not sick."  
"Mhmh, yeah, right.", you muttered, watching Sasaki roll out from under the blanket with a puff and a drawn groan.  
"You have a fever.", you tried to convince him again, but it was no use. While you yawned and sat up as well, your flu-stricken husband crawled across the wooden floor. You watched the tragedy for a moment, then sighed and stood up.  
While Sasaki stubbornly dragged himself to the bathroom, you gathered up the futons and walked across the wooden porch to the small garden. Humming a song, you hung up the bedclothes and stretched, enjoying the first rays of the warm sun. It was a summer day, not so unusual on Onigashima. But unfortunately, Sasaki had caught a severe summer flu and had been dragging himself to his duties with a fever for two days. Never in his life would he call in sick, so you've been watching his theatrics for days. Today, however, was finally the day when even Sasaki could no longer stand on his own two feet.  
"Would you like something to eat?" you asked around the house, watching as he tried to brush his teeth. Sasaki was only keeping himself upright by leaning on the sink, but was already swaying as he stood, and if he weren't such a stubborn man, you'd probably feel sorry for him.  
"You're sick!" you repeated yourself, and he groaned irritably.  
"Are you going to start that again! I’m not sick!" he snarled and you rolled your eyes, walking into the kitchen. As quietly as possible, he probably still had a severe headache, you put on a kettle of water and cleared through the cupboard. Where was the herbal tea?  
"Where's my hat?" you heard his scratchy voice from the hallway. "And my coat..."  
He didn't get an answer from you, but you cradled your head slightly. You had hidden the hat and the coat safely under the winter blankets in the closet, so that he would just not leave the house. You could say what you wanted about Sasaki, but he was vain!  
"Then I'll just go without...", you heard him grumble and then hurriedly ran out of the kitchen to stop him. You had planned it so beautifully, just so he would stay home!  
Before you could even leave the kitchen, you heard a thud and your heart jumped in your throat in shock.  
"Sasaki?!" you called anxiously, rushing off until, with a few long strides, you arrived in the hallway. He was leaning head first against the door, groaning in pain, and you sighed in relief. At least he hadn't fallen over, because you wouldn't just get that heavy hunk carried into the living room!  
"I guess I really am sick.", your husband mumbled towards the front door and you had to suppress a laugh. It would be mean to tease him about it still, so you lovingly took his arm and pulled him away from the door.  
"Then you'll stay here today. I've already put on tea," you said, gently pulling him back down the hall. "We'll lie down and be lazy all day, okay?"  
You only got an approving growl, but that was enough for you. It was bordering on miraculous that Sasaki actually stayed home - that had never happened before. Even when he had broken three ribs in his last fight, it hadn't stopped him from working. But now he could barely stay on his feet and his fever was really high.  
"Go ahead and lie down. I brought out the summer blankets so you won't sweat so much," you beckoned him and set Sasaki down in the living room. You went to the kitchen to turn off the boiling water for the tea - then filled a bowl with cold water. His fever had been dangerously high the night before, which really worried you. That's why you had stayed awake all night, keeping an eye on your patient and trying to lower his temperature with a cool cloth. Even the big, strong Sasaki could not escape a fever!

Not much happened during the day. Sasaki slept and you made sure to put a cold cloth on his forehead every now and then. It at least kept his fever in an acceptable range, even if he didn't like the feeling of the cold cloth on his forehead. It wasn't his way to complain, but you saw the twitch in his expression when you renewed the cloth.  
"Hey, sweetie." you whispered, pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek. A muffled moan let you know he was awake. "You should take a break from sleeping. Otherwise you'll be lying awake all night."  
"That's nonsense." he growled, turning away from you, but you didn't go along with that. Sasaki did have the amazing ability to always being able to sleep - but you still felt that love was the best medicine.  
"Come on." you urged further, crawling under the covers with him. Sasaki's skin was hot and you sighed, as the slight trembling in his muscles he tried to hide, of course. Now pity did come through, because after all, you loved your husband.  
"Okay, wait-" you moved and pushed yourself up a little, lowering yourself onto your back and pulling Sasaki close to you. He growled impatiently, but then played along and rested his head on your chest. Satisfied, you growled and your hand went into his wild hair, gently caressed his neck and finally elicited a sigh.  
Strong arms wrapped around your torso and he squeezed you lightly. Sasaki just snuggled against you and with discipline you had to suppress a sound of rapture. He was never so needy for affection, for contact, for _cuddling_. He was as hard as a rock, a little cool and forbidding - but you knew you enjoyed very different privileges than anyone else.   
"I have a headache..." mumbled Sasaki to your chest. He sneezed twice violently, shattering the comfortable silence, and sniffled. Again he nuzzled your torso, but differently than the first time.  
"Don't wipe your snot on me!" you protested half-heartedly, and he laughed softly - a sign that he seemed to be getting better. "That's disgusting."  
"Haha, sorry hun." he replied, resting his chin on you and looking up. Blue eyes met yours as you sat up slightly, leaning on your forearms. He looked tired, exhausted. Maybe you two should take a nap...? After all, it couldn't hurt, right?  
"I hate being sick." he grumbled, and you raised your hand, running it through the wild, green strands of hair again. Sasaki closed his eyes in pleasure and made noise deep in his chest, almost like a purr. "A fucking flu, honestly..."  
"Even you can't box your way out of a flu." you quipped, sliding down a little to put your arms around him and pull him into a hug. At the same time, you both let out a sigh, at that moment an expression of comfort and affection. If you had to, you would hold him like that all night until he was better.  
"Where did you hide my stuff, anyway? My hat and coat?" mumbled Sasaki dully as he pressed himself even tighter into your soft chest.  
"I won't tell you until your fever is gone," you replied, pressing a kiss to his forehead. "Until then, you better recover a little more while hiding in my cleavage, huh?"  
"What an offer, how could I possibly refuse?" Sasaki looked up at you and you exchanged a look full of love and affection for each other.  
  
"ACHOO!"

"Eww, Sasaki - right in the face!!"


	63. Sasaki - Rejection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> just wholesome fluff =v=

"You're staring again."  
"I'm not staring."  
"You're staring. And it's creepy, honestly."  
Like an angry dog, Sasaki growled at Who's-Who, but he was not impressed. Sasaki, however, was ill at ease on the subject, as Who's-Who was only too happy to tease him about it. Still, he liked to watch you when you took deliveries at the entrance to the kitchen. You yelled at the suppliers when they gave you bad prices and tried to rip you off - the spectacle was a joy to watch every morning. In the end, the suppliers would always sneak away with their tails between their legs while you organized the loading into the warehouse and kitchen. Every morning, Sasaki would lean against one of the walls surrounding the backyard of the kitchens at a safe distance, but he didn't dare go any closer. Only too gladly, Who's-Who would come by and defy his colleague, much to the latter's displeasure.  
"Why don't you just ask for a date, it's not that hard," Who's-Who grumbled, stubbing out his cigarette with his shoe. "There's nothing to it!"  
Sasaki couldn't say anything back to that, because in theory it wasn't that hard either. Then how come he didn't dare ask you out? What if you turned him down? That would be a humiliation and a ready-made meal for the gossip on Onigashima!  
"Coward." said Who's-Who, nudging Sasaki in the side with his elbow. The latter growled irritably, but watched in horror as Who's-Who sauntered over.  
"What the- Who, stop that!!!", Sasaki tried to stop him, but it was too late. Sasaki had to watch as his colleague approached you. You recognized him immediately and smiled, spoke briefly to Who - and looked to Sasaki.  
With great effort, Sasaki had to pull himself together not to run away when you finally came over. He leaned against the wall, as calmly as possible, but inwardly full of panic. Who's-Who would bitterly regret that!!  
"Hey, Sasaki." You greeted the Tobi Roppo kindly and smiled at him. He gulped at first, but then took a deep breath and tried to nip his nervousness in the bud.  
"Mornin'." he greeted casually. You couldn't help but grin widely, because it was obvious that Sasaki was rattled by you.  
"Who's-Who told me you wanted to ask me something?" you finally followed up when Sasaki just wouldn't come out with it.  
"I, ah- yes." He thought hard about what he could ask you as an excuse. Asking you out was something he just didn't have the heart to do, and besides, it wasn't like him at all. Sasaki was gruff and strong, unyielding and hard as iron - but he didn't ask for _dates_.  
"I wanted the recipe for your vegetable skillet," he finally brought out, clearing his throat.  
"Oh, you cook too?!" immediately your expression came to life, and in the face of your shining eyes, he felt sorry for the lie.  
"Not yet, but I thought I might start a new hobby...", Sasaki replied weakly, because he couldn't spoil your obvious joy. Oh, why were you so beautiful... He coudl never hurt your feelings by intend.  
"Oh that's wonderful!" you exclaimed happily. "I've been really busy since I became head chef, but what do you say I show you a few things? I can get out early tomorrow night, so I can show you the basics and-"  
Oh dear, he'd kicked things off.... But Sasaki really couldn't bring himself to confess the lie to you.  
"Sure, why not?" he agreed, then, snorting sheepishly. "You know where I live... Just come on in to the porch."  
"Okay, I'll bring the ingredients and whatever else we need, oh this is going to be just great!" you were bubbling over with anticipation and after being called by one of the cooks you turned to leave. However, you gave Sasaki a quick wave. "See you tomorrow!"  
He remained leaning against the wall for a moment, wondering what exactly had just happened.

"Sasaki!" The next evening you arrived late at his house and called into it questioningly. The porch led into his living room and you stuck your head inside. "Hey, Sasaki!"  
He stood in the hallway, nervous to the tips of his hair, trying to pull himself together. Nothing could rattle him except the possibility of scaring you away forever. He just didn't have any tact when it came to things like this!  
"Come on in!" he called from the hallway, taking a deep breath. When was the last time he'd been this nervous! This was embarrassing...  
"I hope you're hungry!" you immediately babbled as you kicked off your shoes and crossed the living room. "I haven't had time to eat anything today, I'm nearly starving!"  
"The kitchen is in the back on the right." Sasaki just stood by the doorframe, unsure how to deal with you in intimate togetherness. He had never spent time alone with you, at most talking to you when he saw you at Kaido's festivities. He had been in love with you from the first moment, but how could he confess such a thing to you?  
You, however, just pushed past him, your arm loaded with vegetables and happily chattering on. He admired your relaxed manner and how it was natural for you to be alone with him from the first second on. It's like you've done this a thousand times before!  
Sasaki followed you into the kitchen as you recounted the day's escapades.  
"Can you believe that, that Page One is too much of a picky eater to eat the onions? How old is he, like, ten? I really expected more from him!" you complained loudly and Sasaki stood next to you, just watching you clean the vegetables. You pushed the leeks into his hand and nodded toward the sink, a request he followed. Sasaki continued to just listen to you rant about all sorts of things and talk incessantly. He liked just standing next to you and chopping vegetables, a feeling like he hadn't experienced in a long time. Contentment, peace, and a sense of well-being deep in his chest.  
"Sorry, I always talk a lot when I'm nervous," you said after your incessant rant. "Sorry."  
"It's okay." he assured you immediately, giving you a sideways glance. "I'm happy to listen to you."  
"I'm glad!" you laughed, tossing the vegetables into the wok where they sizzled loudly in the oil. "Honestly, I was so excited today, all day long! I mean, a date with you... I never would have dared to even dream that."  
"Granted... I haven't had a date in a while either- Wait!" He looked at you and you looked up into the blue eyes that were scrutinizing you in surprise. "Dating as in 'you like me'?"  
You hesitated. Had you misunderstood his intention? Oh no, this could end up so really embarrassing....  
"Yeeeah?" you replied in a strained voice. "I mean, cooking together is the real date stuff, right?"  
"I guess so," he agreed, and you exhaled in relief. "I've been meaning to ask you for a while, to be perfectly honest."  
"Yeah, me too," you said, "But I can't just ask _Sasaki_ , the strongest of the Flying Six! Come on, I'm just a chef."  
"Head of the kitchen. Of Kaido himself." he corrected you and you laughed out, relieved that you cleared this near-misunderstanding. "I would never have turned you down in my life."  
"Neither would I you, I couldn't turn down such a good match." You gave him an amused look, which he returned.  
You resolved to take an evening off more often in the future.

More cooking lessons just for the two of you.


	64. Jinbe - Me Time

"Hi, Jinbe." You leaned against the railing and gave the helmsman a smile. It was a quiet night on the Thousand Sunny and you had just been relieved by Zoro with the watch. You had noticed that Jinbe was still standing at the bow of the Sunny - at this late hour?  
"Ah, Y/N. What are you doing up so late?" he asked, and you sat down on the railing, looking up at the moonlit sea.  
"It was my turn on watch, but I'm not really tired yet," you replied, looking at him out of the corner of your eye. "And why are you still awake?"  
Caught off guard, Jinbe grumbled and didn't answer you right away. He swayed the steering wheel back and forth in his hands, seeming to weigh his words.  
"Sometimes it's very turbulent in this crew, isn't it?" he finally said, avoiding looking directly at you. "And very noisy. So sometimes you just need some time to yourself."  
"That's true, it really is tumultuous," you said, lying backwards on the railing, your arms folded behind your head. The starry sky above you was clear and beautiful - it was truly a breathtaking night.  
"I like being a part of this crew," Jinbe continued, and you made a noise of agreement, listening to him carefully. "But occasionally it does get very.... exhausting."  
He sounded a little unsettled, as if he couldn't afford to say a bad word about the crew. That's what you liked about him, he was passionately part of this crew and loyal through and through. Maybe you even liked him too much, as comfortable as you felt around him. There was always that tingle in your stomach when you spent time alone with him.  
"Don't worry, everyone needs some time alone," you tried to reassure him. "Speaking of which - do you want me to go? I didn't mean to impose."  
"What, no, such nonsense!", Jinbe immediately retorted and you heard a little embarrassment in his voice. "I enjoy your company very much."  
"Me too."  
Silence fell between you and you began to freeze, briefly considering what time it was. It had to be after three o'clock in the morning already, but the tiredness was still waiting. You wondered if that was because of the four espressos you'd had before your watch.  
"Tell me, Jinbe." you raised your voice again after a few quiet minutes. "Do you miss your old crew much?"  
"Sometimes, yes," he admitted. "But it's not like they're out of the world. You always see each other twice in life."  
You nodded in agreement and stood up, jumping off the railing.  
"Do you mind if I take the wheel? Franky never lets me, he's afraid I'll break something." you asked, swaying your head slightly, trying to be as convincing as possible. Jinbe seemed surprised that you were interested in steering - but actually it was just an excuse to get closer to him. After all, it was the middle of the night, the air was cool, and there was probably no better opportunity for a little togetherness.  
"Of course, come here." He took a step to the side and you grabbed the wheel, giving him a twinkling look. Jinbe briefly seemed a little intimidated by your obvious approach, but he very quickly regained his composure and reached across your body to take the wheel as well. Your back was against his body and the tingling in your belly only became all the more insistent. The warmth of his body against yours was soothing and almost surreal in this clear starry night. Were you perhaps dreaming this after all?  
"What do you watch for when you steer the ship?" you asked, looking up, grinning happily at Jinbe. He looked down at you with a soft gaze and a little embarrassed in the face of your touch. He was not a pushy type of man, quite the opposite - rather reserved and almost shy about such things.  
"You have to be able to read the sea," he answered you, and you leaned a little more against him. He gave a deep humming sound, a sound of well-being which came from him quite instinctively. He noticed it himself and cleared his throat softly, but you enjoyed this small gesture of intimacy. Rarely did you have the time for togetherness, so this quiet moment was a welcome respite. Things often got heated in this crew, so a break like this was a real relief.  
"No one can read the sea like you can," you said, and now leaned fully against him, making your intentions clear once and for all. You liked being close to Jinbe, even if that wasn't often possible in your daily lives. But his serene manner drew you almost magically in all the chaos and he grounded you in a way you had not thought possible. Just being near him was more than enough to put you at ease.

"If you learn to steer, then I can sit back and watch," he said, letting go of the wheel and just sitting down cross-legged on the deck. Startled, you gripped the wheel a little tighter, but what could happen? It wasn't as if the sea was choppy or stormy on this pleasant night, after all.  
Jinbe noticed your fright and he laughed.  
"Don't worry, we're in a calm current right now. You can let go." he said and you sighed, sitting down next to him and giving Jinbe an offended look.  
"You could have told me that," you grumbled, but your tone suggested you weren't seriously miffed. "Say, do you do this a lot? Just sit here at night and look up at the sky?"  
"Mhm, it's very relaxing," Jinbe admitted, and you watched him take the cloak off his shoulders. He spread the fabric out and looked at you questioningly, to which you immediately moved a little closer and he pulled the soft fabric over your shoulders. With an excited sparkle in your eyes, you looked up at him and your eyes met. There was definitely a sizzle between the two of you and you liked the feeling a lot. Jinbe was so admirable, you could only hope that he felt the same way about you as you did about him!  
"I like spending my time with you," you ventured, pressing a little closer to him. "Just you and me, you know."  
He was embarrassed, very much so, you could hear it in his clearing of his throat. You couldn't help but smile at that, because who knew this giant was so adorable?  
"I can only return the compliment." he replied, and your smile widened a bit as the butterflies in your stomach flew loops. "Even if such matters are... are difficult within a crew."  
"Yes, you're right." So much for the butterflies, you thought, and sighed. But Jinbe put his arm around you and pulled you a little closer, a surprising turn for you. Wide-eyed, you looked up at him again and you gave each other a loving look.  
"All the more reason to enjoy nights like this," he said and you nodded, snuggling against his body and sighing heavily. Tiredness began to pull you into a deep trance and you felt yourself beginning to fall asleep. The effects of the caffeine were wearing off, but luckily you had the perfect spot for a nap.  
In a few hours breakfast was already served by Sanji, but until then you could still enjoy the closeness to the helmsman to the fullest. You were already lying with your upper body on his lap, sighing softly and just enjoying the moment in this deep silence. His hand was on your shoulder, playing with a strand of your hair, and for that moment at least, all was right with the world.  
"We should do this more often," you mumbled and he hummed in agreement, deep in his chest. Sleepily, you opened one eye and saw that Jinbe seemed to be dozing off as well. That was only right for you, such a joint nap under the stars. Happily, you pulled the fabric of the cloak a little tighter around you and allowed yourself to drift off to sleep.


	65. Sasaki - Memories

  
"Can you do it a little faster? Today, _please_!" you shooed the crew around and you regretted paying these slow idiots so much. Of course, you also paid for secrecy, because as a smuggler, you needed people to shut up. Only in hauling they were more than slow.  
"Come on boss, it's getting late. We can go on tomorrow, can't we?" one of the workers tried to soften you up, but you wouldn't hear of it.  
"No way, I have another customer tonight," you replied dryly. "I don't want this place to look like a dump, damn it!"  
"Yeah, boss." the guy grumbled, rolling his eyes. You took it, because you could understand why your people wanted to get off work. The customer, however, was important because he had been sent by Kaido himself. You were only too happy to establish a trade relationship with Kaido, because then your business would really take off even more!  
"Do you need chaperones? We don't know the customer yet." Dan, your right hand man, looked at you from the side. You shook your head, who did he think you were? You could very well take care of yourself.  
"Kaido is not so stupid as to pick a fight with me, after all, I have the entire trade node in these waters under my control," you puffed up your chest and Dan sighed in the face of your huge ego.  
On the horizon of the harbor you could see a ship and who else could it be but the expected clientele. You were already curious about the envoy of Kaido, because he was supposed to be a big shot of this pirate gang.

You waited until the ship docked and tightened your shoulders, folding your arms behind your back. You liked to radiate the necessary authority, because then no one would think of making trouble for you. Apart from that, your trading post was a fortress that no one could bring down so easily.  
The envoy of Kaido left his ship, instructed the crew to wait and stretched out on the dock, cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders as if he were tense. You watched the whole thing calmly, because these guys liked to pretend they were the toughest guys under the sun. But something about him made you hesitate. He was tall, bulky built and you stared at the green hair. It was so tousled and wild, a mane like no other. Could it be...?  
"S...Sasaki?" you finally asked, and he seemed surprised to hear his name from you. Finally he turned to you and opened his mouth, closing it again without saying anything. Was that really Sasaki, the one and only _Sasaki_? The guy you dated when you were 18?!  
"Y/N?" he finally asked, and you just stared at each other for a moment. Unfortunate circumstances had driven you apart and forced you to forget each other. You had never forgotten him completely, of course, because Sasaki had been your first and only love. And now he stood before you, sixteen years later, and he seemed to be just the stubborn, lovable bastard as ever.  
He came up to you, trying to contain his surprise and excitement, but you saw the twinkle in his eye. It had been so long, and here of all places you saw him again!  
"It's been a long time.", he greeted you and you beamed, completely wallowing in adrenaline pumped by excitement.  
"Sixteen years." you replied, eyeing him conspicuously. He noticed your gaze, of course, and you were pleased to note that there was still that certain tension in the air between you. "You look good, you really do."  
He allowed you to grab the collar of his coat and adjust it a bit, but of course that was just an excuse to touch him. _Oh_ , there was definitely still the same attraction as there was back then. You liked him even more, with the broad shoulders and a little more on the ribs.... That invited you to dream, to think of all the things you wanted to do with this man.  
"I can only return the compliment." You couldn't help a flattered giggle and suddenly you were both 18 again, head over heels in love and full of hopes and dreams. What you wouldn't give to be able to turn back time....  
"You work for Kaido now?" you asked, looking up at him, **_oh_** how you had missed those blue eyes. Sasaki had always been a handsome guy, but the 16 years had really done him good. He had grown up a lot, not quite as much of a riot as he used to be. You liked it.  
"I was a captain myself for a while, but things change sometimes." You heard a little bitterness in his voice, and it was clear that he probably hadn't necessarily submitted to Kaido willingly at first. That wasn't Sasaki's way at all, either, as stubborn as you remembered him. Looking at him like that, many memories came up in you and longing made you sigh.  
"You're a sought-after fence and smuggler now," he replied, grinning. Ahh, you missed that grin so much! "You're a big shot now, huh?"  
Laughing, you punched him on the shoulder and his deep, raspy laugh sent a shiver down your spine. Every cell in your body yearned for a hug, for his strong arms and the memory of your relationship back then. You had loved him, more than anything in the world.  
He also seemed a bit wistful, but unfortunately he was here on business. There was a lot to talk about, even though you were both only too happy to reminisce.  
"Come on, let's get something to eat and settle the boring stuff - then afterwards we'll treat ourselves to a drink and have a nice evening," you suggested, letting go of the hem of his coat but seeking his gaze. Sasaki sighed slightly and nodded, for business was unfortunately the top priority. Afterwards you could get decently drunk and tell each other what had happened in the last 16 years.  
Encouragingly, you grabbed his arm and hooked onto him, pulling him along with you so that the sucky business was done as quickly as possible. Sasaki was taken aback by your touch, so familiar and natural - but he immediately enjoyed it. Like he was 18 again, hopelessly in love with you and already sending the whole world packing just to see you smile.

"You've only gotten more beautiful in these 16 years," he murmured to you, even though the two of you were all alone on the dock. As if no one should know that Sasaki could _like_ someone! So his ego was still extremely sensitive. To the outside world, he only ever wanted to show the strong, uncompromising guy, but you knew what he was really like. Deep inside he was very lovable and had a good heart - even if the world did everything to take it away from him. But for you he always remained your Sasaki, the aspiring young pirate who stole from everything and everyone and showered you with treasures. Even then, he had carried you on his hands and always treated you like royalty - that probably hadn't changed, had it?  
"Have to say, just showing up here and being a foot taller and so muscular." you replied, throwing him a bright smile as you looked up at him. "Damn it Sasaki, you can't just show up here and embarrass me like that."  
He laughed out loud and pulled you a little closer with his arm, but was thoroughly flattered by your clear advances.  
"Do you still think you can soften me up with your flattery?" he asked and you chuckled, only pressing yourself closer to his side. "You tried that before, too," he said.  
"And it always worked in the end," you replied happily, full of anticipation for the evening ahead. He made an approving noise, deep in his chest, and you felt that certain crackle between the two of you again. It had survived all this time, that spark that had connected you back then.  
"Hmm, I guess so."


End file.
